Second Chances
by Amelia Sandford
Summary: (Based off of AllieJenzie's fanfic 'I Never Should have Joined') After being saved by Laxus Dreyar from a terrible incident within the Fairy Tail Guild, the two companions head off towards Heaven's Grove. On their way they met many friends new and old. All leading to the newest guild within Fiore. (Some chapters might be rated T for language but besides that, always K plus) LaLu :D
1. Penpals, dumb blonds, and scar twins

_**IMPORTANT! YOU MUST READ! I MEAN SERIOUSLY SERIOUS HERE, YOU MUST READ! YOU WILL SUFFER A TERRIBLE HEADACHE IF THIS IS NOT READ!**_

_**Hey guys, so as it said in the summary, this story is a based off of AllieJenzie's fanfic, 'I Never Should Have Joined'. Before you start yelling, she did give me permission to do this. Don't believe you can ask her yourself. **_

_**This story was made with the combined efforts of AllieJenzie, her dear friend Ashren (who has taken it upon herself, to add herself into this tale) and me. **_

_**All the Credit to the idea goes to** **Allie!**_

"Hurry up Blonde." Laxus Dreyar, 21 year old lightning mage, scowled over his shoulder, waiting impatiently for his new traveling companion.

"You could have a little patience you know. I have to finish this and send it today." a blond celestial mage sigh, scribbling frantically on the letter in front of her.

Laxus scoffed.

Rolling her eyes at him, Lucy continued to write her letter. It was to her child hood friend, and best friend. Ashren. She had to let Ashren know what had happened in the past days. She knew her friend would probably be worrying.

So with that thought in made, she made a quick summary of what happened and reached for an envelope.

She could help but wonder, what was Ashren doing now?

-000-

Sneezing suddenly, a dark red hair and green eyed girl looked up from her journal.

...Someone was talking about her. She could feel it.

After a few short seconds, she girl shrugged it off as nothing, and continue to write down in her journal.

G_reetings Peasants. You are now in the glorious presence of Ashren, which is me. At the moment I'm going over old letters that were sent between my old child hood friend and me._

My child hood friend is a girl named Lucy Heartfilia. We lived close to each other when we were kids. My father, a good friend of her fathers, would often have business trips together. Since Lucy and me with the same age he brought me with him each time so I could play and chat with her.

About two years ago though I left home to start my own life, even if I was only 15 years old. Since then my only way to contact Lucy was threw mail.

I remember I sent the first letter, saying pretty much this,

_Dear Dumb Blonde,_

_I have finally moved into my new apartment. It was more costly than it should have been with how poor the condition is, but my latest information says it will be worth it in the end. It better be._

_Sincerely,_

_The Money God_

Yes I am the Money God. That aside, my friend replied with this next letter. She was telling something about how her life within her new guild was like.

_Dear Cheapskate,_

_Happy to hear you have a new apartment, it's about time you found a place to settle down. I just got done with a mission today and am about to head back to FairyTail. You should really come check it out some time. It's an amazing guild. _

_I have an odd feeling today. Do you ever have those moments where you feel like something bad is going to happen? Maybe it's just my imagination. _

_Anyways, talk to you soon. Try not to get into too much trouble._

_Sincerely,_

_Regular Blonde_

_P.s. Maybe you should lower your housing standards_

I paused, staring blankly down at the letters in my hand. I always kept a copy of my own written letters, just in case. These had been passed on only a week before. Throughout the week my pen pal's, letters had gotten more… disturbing. With a heavy sigh I looked at the latest letters.

_Dear Dumb Blonde,_

_Follow your gut. If something feels wrong then get out before something bad happens. If you need help all you need to do is ask (with the acceptance of payment, obviously). I am almost done with my investigation and will be able to visit soon._

_Sincerely,_

_The Money God_

_P.s. I do what I want, peasant_

Yeah don't bother to ask what my job is. One, you don't need to know, two, I'm too busy to tell you. Anyway though, around the final letter I had gotten from my Pen Pal, I was shocked to see what she wrote.

_Dear Cheapskate,_

_I still question why you call everyone peasant. As I am sure you noticed (with your weird paranoia) that my address has changed. Don't worry, I'm fine. The guild just wasn't right for me anymore. I am currently on the road with a friend of mine so I am afraid I won't be able to receive any of your letters for a while. As I am sure you are probably wondering (again) my friend is Laxus Dreyar. Don't freak out. I was slightly injured on the road (stop freaking out, I can tell you are) and he took care of me. He did not wish for me to be on my own until I was fully recovered so he is traveling with me (stop panicking!). We are currently heading to Heavens Grove. I hope you are well, stay out of trouble (again)._

_Sincerely, _

_Regular Blonde_

_P.s. That is not what a regular human being does nor wants to do!_

I stood with a sigh, stuffing the letters in my pocket. Something big had happened, no matter what Lucy said. Slinging a bag over my shoulder I strolled calmly out the door of her hotel room, leaving the stupid bill untouched and,_ I smirked_, unpaid. It was time to find my pen pal and childhood friend.

-00000-

Lucy sighed heavily, placing the last letter to her dear friend in the mailbox gently.

"Would you hurry up? You may be fine with it but I would prefer not to spend my whole day staring dumbly at a mailbox." A deep voice called to her.

"Better than staring at your dumb face," Lucy grumbled.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing Laxus!" A charming smile was sent his way.

"Whatever," Laxus huffed, folding his arms. "Lets just go."

Lucy sighed again, trudging after him.

It had been a week or so since the incident had occurred. She wasn't entirely sure how it had started, but it was painfully clear how it ended. Ever since she had returned from that mission her gui-… former guild members had begun to act differently towards her. It started with just slight annoyance whenever she approached them. Sometimes they would seem to return to normal until they appeared to remember who they where talking to. It hurt, of course it did, but it only got worse from there. They no longer concealed their hate with fake words and smiles. Constant belittlement met her every step. Even violence began to become a regular treatment. Then that final day came where everything seemed to blow up in her face.

They beat her mercilessly, leaving only a shell of what she used to be. The worst was her arm, which she could barely move at the time due to the large gash that spread across its length, courtesy of Erza. Those scars could be hidden, though. She didn't have to look at them if she did not want to. She could continue life as a normal mage. Unfortunately there was one scar that could not be covered. She did not have to see it personally, that was easy enough to avoid, but everyone she passed could see it clear as day and it was their reactions that constantly reminded her of its presence.

A gruesome scar that went from the middle of her forehead and shot diagonally across her right eye and stopped just before her ear marred her once smooth face. It was hideous, and she knew it. She was not vain in any sense of the word, beauty held no real interest for her. But the knowledge that she could never look at a reflective surface again without being reminded of that terrible time was enough to crush her.

"Hey…. Hey you…. Blonde…. Blondie…. Dumb blonde…. LUCY!"

Lucy jumped, looking around wildly. Laxus stared at her in annoyance.

"What? What happened?" she questioned, looking for a threat.

"You dazed out," Laxus frowned. "Are your injuries hurting you?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, their fine. I was just thinking."

"Shocker."

She glared at him. "And? You said my name?"

"And various others. Anyway, we won't make it to the other town tonight."

"What? But it was only supposed to be an hours walk!"

Laxus crossed his arms in annoyance. "Yeah well, you where lagging behind and slowed us down!"

"Hey, I was not-!" Lucy looked around, finally taking in their surroundings. "…Why are we in a forest?"

"What?"

"Why are we in a forest? There is not a forest anywhere near the town we where headed to. Why are we in a forest Laxus?!"

He stared at her awkwardly before becoming angry, his face turning red.

"How the hell should I know?!"

Lucy gapped at him incredulously.

"You got us lost again, didn't you?! I can't believe this! It was a straight shot! All you had to do was stay on the road!" she threw her hands in the air.

"Yeah, well…" he struggled for words. "You're fat!"

"Excuse me?!"

"You heard me! Fat!"

"You're one to talk you big pig!"

"Boar!

"Cow!"

"I could barely carry you earlier you fatso!"

"Maybe that's because you lack more muscle than a sickly grandmother!"

"Lacking muscle-! What do you call these then?!"

"Big sacks of fat!"

The two continued to argue, their insults flying at a rapid pace, until Lucy stepped forward in anger. Her foot slid sending her straight into Laxus.

"Whoa!" he said, wrapping his arms around her. They stood for a moment in silence.

"Klutz," he smirked, holding her up.

Lucy tried to frown but a smile tilted her lips unwillingly. Hopefully Laxus wouldn't notice how her cheeks were burning red.

"Laxus," she began.

"_Step away from her, peasant_," a cold voice hissed.

Laxus tensed as something metal was placed on his forehead.

Lucy froze. The voice sounded oddly familiar…

"Ashren?" she called hesitantly. There was only one person she knew who called others peasants.

"Good evening Lucy, I see you are doing well enough without this big behemoth all over you," the voice greeted in a slightly warmer tone. "Now release her peasant."

Laxus slowly removed his arms from around Lucy who immediately turned around.

"Ashren it is you!" Lucy smiled before gasping at the sight of the gun placed to Laxus' head. "What are you doing?! Don't point that thing at him!"

The cloaked girl frowned, prodding at her victim.

"Ten steps away," she ordered, not lowering the gun.

"Ashren!" Lucy scolded

"Fine," she sighed. "Five steps."

Laxus glared at the girl but carefully backed away.

Once he was deemed a safe distance apart she lowered her gun to her side and pushed back the hood of her cloak.

Shaggy, chin length red hair framed piercing green eyes. A deep scar ran across her right eyebrow, down her right eye, and ended just above the corner of her lips.

"What are you doing here?" Lucy questioned, taking in the face she hadn't seen in years.

"The better question is what are you doing here? From your letters I would have assumed you where halfway to Heavens Grove right about now."

Lucy frowned in annoyance. "Yes, well, we would have been if it wasn't for Laxus' terrible directional sense. He has gotten us lost three times now."

Laxus scowled and turned away.

"I see," Ashren sighed, strapping her gun to her hip. "You really could have done better in respects to company Lucy."

Laxus glared at her harshly. "And just who the hell are you?" he hissed.

"Though I have better things to do than to speak with dimwitted peasants, you are Lucy's companion so I suppose I shall humor you." Ashren walked over to a slightly hidden path near the bushes. "Come with me, I have set up camp a little ways away. We can talk there."

"And why would I follow you?" he demanded.

"You have no food, little water, it is getting dark, you are lost, your companion is injured, and I have a gun," Ashren listed monotonously.

Laxus growled but looked away. "Fine," he muttered.

"Great, lets go then."

The three made their way through the forest, Ashren a little ways ahead of the two mages.

"Who is this girl?" Laxus whispered to Lucy.

She smiled nervously. "An old friend of mine. Don't worry, she's really nice when you get to know her."

"She pointed a gun at my head!"

Lucy shrugged, "Well you are a suspicious looking guy!"

Laxus sent her look.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, you know its true."

"Are all of your friends gun wielding maniacs?"

Lucy glared at him. "Well at least she didn't turn me to stone and try to electrocute me."

Laxus groaned. "Are you still going on about that? That was a one-time thing! Get over it!"

"No! You turned me to stone!"

"She pointed a gun at my head!"

"She wouldn't have seriously hurt you, unlike your crazy friends."

The mention of the FairyTail group brought the conversation to a halt, allowing a tense silence to fall between the two.

"I realize blondes like you two are severely lacking in brain cells but your speed should not be affected. Get a move on, we should have been there already." Ashren called back to them.

The two glared at her back before picking up the pace.

A few minutes later Ashren lifted up what appeared to be a large bush and ushered them inside the small hole behind it. The two cautiously made their way in and where surprised to find a spacious clearing on the other side.

The first thing Lucy noticed was the warm fire and the scent of food.

The first thing Laxus noticed was the disturbingly large amount of weapons littered throughout the clearing.

The first thing Ashren noticed was two peasants' messing with her stuff.

"Sit down and don't touch anything," she demanded, strolling over to check her food.

"This is nice," Lucy commented, looking around. She chose to blatantly ignore the weapons. "How did you find this place?"

Ashren stirred a small pot over the fire, not even glancing up.

"I built it. I often do assignments in this area and I needed someplace covert."

"That doesn't sound anything like a terrorist," Laxus mumbled.

Lucy jabbed him with her elbow.

Carefully spooning the food into two bowls, Ashren walked over and placed them in front of the two. She lowered herself to the ground across from them.

The two began to eat before Lucy frowned.

"Aren't you going to eat Ashren?" she questioned.

The redhead waved her off. "I have already eaten, that food was for my prey later on tonight."

Laxus spat the food back into the bowl.

"Laxus!" Lucy reprimanded.

"Did you not just hear her?!" he sputtered. "Her prey, Lucy! This probably wasn't made for their health!"

Ashren rolled her eyes.

"Relax I haven't done anything to it. The smell would have drawn them out well enough."

Laxus scowled down at the bowl before continuing to eat.

Lucy grimaced in disgust.

"So how exactly did a person of your intelligence end up with… that?" Ashren questioned Lucy while gesturing towards Laxus.

"Can you please stop insulting him?" Lucy sighed.

"I don't like him."

"The feeling's mutual," Laxus glowered.

"At least try to get along with him. Please."

Ashren sighed. "Fine. You still haven't answered my question."

Lucy shifted uncomfortably. "I had been injured awhile ago and he found me. He's been taking care of me since."

"Why?"

Laxus glared. "You think I would just leave her there."

"After she was well enough, yes," Ashren stated matter of factually.

"Yeah, well, I'm not completely heartless like some people," he sneered.

Ashren gasped mockingly. "How did you know?"

Lucy groaned. "Guys please, stop fighting!" Her arm was beginning to hurt.

Ashren stared at her intently before standing.

"Very well, it is time for you two to rest. I have to finish what I came here for but that can be done tomorrow. Watches are not a problem, this place is safe."

Lucy smiled gently as Ashren handed her and Laxus blankets.

"Thank you Ashren."

"I expect to be paid back in full," was the monotone reply.

Lucy rolled her eyes but smiled. Ashren never changed.

After 20 minutes of tossing and turning, Lucy glanced over at the redhead. Laxus was snoring like bear and she was a very light sleeper.

"Ashren?" Lucy called quietly.

"Yes?" she didn't turn.

"Will you travel with us? I've missed you, and there are plenty of things that might interest you in Heavens Grove."

There was a long pause and Lucy was beginning to think the other girl had fallen asleep.

"I was going to go to Heavens Grove shortly after I finished here. To find you."

Lucy blinked in confusion. "Why?"

"I am not an idiot. I know you and you would never quit something without good reason. And judging from your appearance and wounds, something has happened."

Lucy shuddered and buried deeper into the blanket.

"I will not ask what has happened and you never need to tell me. I will find out in my own way, but just know that I will be here for you. Now go to sleep, your injuries need rest."

Lucy grinned and closed her eyes. Right before she was about to drift asleep Ashren called to her again.

"Lucy?"

"Yes?"

The girl turned over and ran a hand over her eye.

"We're twins now."

Lucy laughed, running the tips of her index finger over the scar that had been placed over her right eye. They were… scar twins, huh? "I guess so." She smiled


	2. The story of Ashren

**Chapter two is up! **

**Again a reminder, the beginning of this story is based off of Allie Jenzie's fanfic, 'I Never Should have Joined". Speaking of Allie, I would like to thank her for all the support and help she gave me with this chapter. As a bit of compensation for me stealing some plot from her own story, she asked if she could add her own character to it. **

**As some of you might have guessed that character is indeed Ashren. Though if some of you know Ashren from Allie's other fanfics, you'll notice her character is a little different. ^_^ Allie as for me to make it so seeing as this Ashren is a reincarnation of many Ashren's. **

**Ah the confusion. But I tried to make it work in this story. I hope none of you are confused! If you have any questions I would be glad to hear them :D**

**Now, onto the chapter!**

**Ashren's POV**

"So tell me again, why is _she _coming with us?" Laxus inquired darkly from in front of me, as if I couldn't hear. How he thought his voice was even _slightly _a whisper was beyond me.

"She is my friend, and I invited her to join us, that's why," Lucy answered

"Right so, why am I here then?" he scowled. After having waking up that morning next to a large pile of different handguns and other potential things that could blow his head into pieces, Laxus wasn't exactly in a chipper mode.

"Because you're helplessly in love with her and you can't stand leaving her with the heartless red-headed demon." I suddenly stepped in between the two. I smirked at the bright red faces next to me.

"W-What are you talking about?' Lucy stammered.

"Though I do agree with the heartless demon part," Laxus muttered, averting his eyes to the ground.

"At least we're on the same page," I agreed

Rolling her eyes, Lucy looked back down to the map. Laxus had offered to hold it and give us directions, but from what Lucy has said, I could not let that happen. I have a very planned out schedule, and I would like to stick to it to the best I could.

"Okay, so if we stay on this path, we should be at Heaven's Grove by noon. At least, so long as we don't run into trouble."

"And Laxus doesn't take the lead,"

"You starting a fight Carrot Top?" Laxus glared towards me

"Ohhh, original,"

"Will you two knock it off," Lucy sighed.

I rolled my eyes but complied. I had woken up before the sun had risen in order to complete my task before noon and the early wake up was making me more irritable than usual.

***Flashback***

I'm not a very normal person. I had been told that since I was little. To be honest, I find myself a very typical human being if I do say so myself. Everyone else on the other hand, well, they are all poor peasants who do stupid things.

Lucy would most likely disagree with me I suppose. She always did, but she always smiled at me to. If anyone was odd, it was her. Always smiling at strangers and giving her money away as if she were some sort of walking charity.

I remember in the silence of that first night traveling with Laxus and her, I rose from my bed and stared at her.

Yes, like some creeper. You better have caught my sarcasm there, peasants.

However, no. I am not some creepy stalker that stares at people like Laxus does.

Carefully I crept towards the side of the camp, looking back once to make sure I had not awoken either of my two new companions.

I had work to do and needed to get it done before the sun rose once more.

I made my way silently through the forest, looking for any signs of movement. I was meeting someone here and all they had been told was that they would know how to find me. Unfortunately, my two unexpected guests had eaten the soup, which had been made to give them an obvious trail.

"Come on," I murmured. "Where are you?"

A twig snapped in the distance and I took off with a smirk.

A young man made his way warily through the trees. It was difficult to find his boss on a normal day in an open area. In the dark while in a dense forest was just asking for a migraine.

I suppose you could call this boy my lackey. Now as this Lackey's boss, it is my solemn duty to make sure they are always prepared for anything to occur. So, it was always beneficial to both of us when I do this…

"Marcus." I whispered in his ear, my voice low.

The boy jumped and whirled around, his chest heaving up and down in shock. "Gah! What the- Why would you _do_ that?!" he screeched.

I smirked from under my hood.

It improves his sensing skill, which he still lacked a great deal, and gave me a good laugh. Always a win, win with Marcus here.

"Do you have what I asked for?" I questioned.

Marc straightened his clothes with a huff.

"Of course. Who do you think you're talking to?" There was a stilted silence as we stared at one another. "Alright then, this is just creepy. Did you have to pick such a dark place?" he whined.

Though he could not see my face, only the vague outline of a person standing in the shadow of a tree, he could feel my glare.

"Right, right, straight to business," he sat down and crossed his legs. "I went east, to Clover Town, just like you said. The people where complaining about some kind of ghost. I checked it out. They said it was messing with the crops, stealing from homes, there were weird noises at night, and some people had gone missing."

I folded my arms. "The crops and missing items?"

"Nothing big was stolen but the crops where withering fast. The farmers had no idea what was happening." he sighed. "Long story short, me and the gang found a bunch of bandits camped out nearby. They started the rumors of the ghost themselves. Thought it would make the town easier to hit."

"Then there was nothing else affecting the land? What about the crops?"

"They had a mage that messed with their growth cycle. Just to creep the townsfolk out a little more. It was a dead end."

I folded my arms, forcing down the heavy feeling of disappointment.

"I see. I assume you took care of the bandits?"

Marc grinned. "They won't be showing their faces anytime soon."

"Well done. I will contact you as soon as I have something else for you to do." I turned to walk away.

"Boss, wait!" Marc called, watching me stop. "Me and the guys, we're… well you don't have to tell us, we'll follow you no matter what the case… we were just wondering.." he trailed off.

"What?"

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?" I closed my eyes. "We've been at this for years yet nothing has ever turned up, or at least you've never given any sign that something has. We just want to know what we're doing."

I weighed my options and measured my words carefully.

"What I am looking for, it is… something that should not exist. It is very dangerous and it destroys everything around it. What you are doing is looking for signs of its presence. The land will decay, people will become sick, water will be tainted, and even the people themselves will begin to become corrupt." I looked down at his pale face. "It is a demonic thing that must be found before it can do any real damage."

Marc gulped. "Oh, wow. I was not expecting that. If it isn't supposed to exist, how do you know it does?"

I frowned. "Because I exist."

"What?"

"That is something for another time. The sun is rising now, you should head back."

Marc glanced through the trees at the rising light before turning back.

"Okay I gue- and you're gone." He shivered. "Damn, it's cold. Ah, well." He stood up and began to make his way back the way he had come. "Time for another long journey, I should get paid more for this."

I watched him go from high up in a tree. Once he was out of sight I sat down and placed my head in my hands.

The key had escaped me yet again. I was getting older and though I am still young I would not live forever.

The _Key. _

That vile thing was the soul vexation of my life.

"Maybe it has already been found," I thought in despair before shaking my head. "No, I would have felt it. It is still sleeping."

The demons laughter resounded through my head.

"Oh shut up," I barked. "Even if I don't find the key it will never be near enough to let you fools out."

They hissed in return.

I sighed. Perhaps, if I am going to write this thing down later in journal anyway, I should explain. (Though I probably burn that journal when I am done)

A long time ago numerous demons had been sealed inside me by many powerful mages in order to prevent them from attacking any more innocents. These demons had been created by the dark mage, **_Zeref_**_._

Unfortunately, at the last moment they had fought back and the seal had been left unfinished. They where locked away inside of me but the keys to those locks had been scattered throughout different times, and areas of this world. I have lived far too many times, and lost far too much, but I knew it would not end anytime soon.

There where too many keys left unaccounted for and, should they ever be used to open those doors, my mind, body, and the lives of everything around me would be lost. So in order to make sure that ever key was found to prevent such a thing from occurring, I was reborn many times throughout this planet's life.

Sounds a little odd, doesn't it? Yes, reincarnation is something very odd. Even thinking upon it myself, I can't not determine how many lives I have lived. Fore I cannot remember every single one.

I do remember a few though. Yes, some happy, some only ending in tragedy. At the moment in this life however, I cannot determine what sort of life it will be. I have an odd feeling; it will be one I will never forget for as long as I am reborn into this world.

Perhaps it is because of Lucy that I have this feeling.

I made my way back to the camp with a heavy heart. Perhaps that was why, every time I was born, I would be born near a pure soul. One that I would never allow to be harmed. So that I would never give up and allow the doors to be opened.

Lucy tossed under her blanket for a moment before lying still once more. I smiled and moved the blanket back to its proper position.

Yes, Lucy would never come to harm, especially from those foul things. If only I had focused on her so called friends as well.

I know something happened with her guild. With _Fairy Tail. _What ever it was, they would pay. They would pay dearly for any tears that my friend may shed.

**End flashback**

"Oh, look! There it is!" Lucy cheered, pointing at the small town in the distance. Slowly looking up, I stared at the town in silence.

Heaven's Grove.

Lucy often spoke of this place when we were both kids. Her mother would often tell us stories of the place and how her mother, Lucy's grandmother, brought her here as a child to see the Festival.

"Thank god!" Laxus groaned, picking up his pace. "I am tired of this crap."

"At least you did not have to deal with a mindless buffoon," I remarked dryly.

"What was that carrot-top?!"

"Are you seriously going to start calling me that? Can't you think of anything better?"

Lucy sighed. "Can we please just get to the town before you two start up again?"

"I don't know if Laxus can make it that far, with all that fat weighing him down."

"Maybe you should just let the wind carry you away ya damn toothpick!"

"Sure, lend me some of the wind you keep in your head."

Lucy rubbed the bridge of her nose. "And I thought me and Laxus where bad."

"I would correct you and say 'Laxus and I' if it were not for the fact his name deserves to be at the end."

"What the hell is your problem?!"

I smirked, tuning to blonde oaf out. It was nice to be traveling with others again. Especially Lucy. My information network must have picked something up by now about what had happened. I would find out exactly what her former guild had done, and once I had, I would take methods to prevent it from ever happening again. She was never going to be put in harms way ever again. Not while I was here.

Oh did I mention I have my own information network weird audience in my head? No? Hmm, well let me explain peasants.

I am an information hog. Learning everything I can and can use for my own benefit later is what I live for. That and finding dark a magical keys.

Which also explain what Marcus (That boy you saw earlier) does. He is one of my information lackeys. He goes around the land collecting any information I require and informing me of them later.

"I wish you two would get along better," Lucy sighed, her shoulders sagging from our constant arguments.

"Oh, and how you and I treat one another is any better?" with a coy smirk, Laxus glanced towards her.

Her cheeks burned a light shade of pink as her lips curved into a pout, "That is different, since you always start them,"

"I always start them? You are always spacing out," he pointed out.

"And you always get lost," the young celestial mage smirked, twirling a finger through her hair.

"And I love money," I suddenly said dreamily, looking up towards the sky.

"What do you even do?" Laxus looked to me, wanting to know exactly what my occupation was within this world. I paused, thinking over my words carefully.

"Don't you own your own information network?" Lucy tilted her head to me, with a small, if not proud, smile.

Well I must admit, I give Lucy credit for figuring out what my hobbies were simply through our many pen pal letters to one another.

"That definitely doesn't make you a terrorist," Laxus scowled

"Laxus," Lucy scolded, "Knock it off, both of you. I mean it. This is just getting ridiculous. I mean, you two can't even go two sentences without starting a fight,"

"I wouldn't say that," I shrugged

"We once went three," Laxus agreed.

"No you two didn't, I've never seen that happen,"

"Well, it just happened now," I pointed out

"And my sentence makes four," Laxus smirked.

She turned to both of us, looking very un-amused.

"Careful Laxus, we've angered her," I leaned in near him.

"Ohhh, wouldn't want a dumb blond after us,"

"Really?" she demanded, "You two instantly turn your insults to me. And by the way Laxus, you're blond too,"

"Your point?"

Throwing her hands up, Lucy stormed towards the town. "I wish you two would go back to insulting one another," she grumbled.

"Don't insult each other, insult each other, you should really make up your mind on what you want us to do Lucy," I spoke up, trotting from behind her.

Glancing at my direction, my old childhood friend pouted, "How about you find some _besides _arguing to occupy your time?"

"Like what?" Laxus stepped towards the other side of her, "Counting the clouds?"

"It would keep you busy," Lucy agreed

"Or very bored," he scowled

"Well," I paused to make sure my hand gun was neatly strapped to my waist, "I have things I have to do,"

"Things?" the two blondes stopped to stare at me.

"I have my own life you know," I frowned at them.

"No?" Laxus gasped in fake shock, "Really?" Lucy complied by elbowing him in the stomach.

"Where will you be going?" she titled her head

"The forest, I got things I need to finish up." I still had other Lackeys coming to see me. No need getting Lucy worried.

"Want us to come with you?"

"No," I held my hand up to Lucy, "Nice offer, but this is something I have to do on my own. I'll meet you two at the city. There is a small restaurant at the end of town. It is called the _Single Flower _right next to some hotels. Pick a hotel while you are there to stay," I motioned to it. With a hesitant nod, Lucy glanced at Laxus, who had his arms folded with a suspicious frown plastered on his face.

"Oh and... make sure you get two rooms at the hotel," I said quickly.

"Two?" Lucy tilted her head.

I nodded, "One for me, and one for the two of you to share," I smirked at her face lit up like a candle.

"S-Share a r-r-r-room?!" she squeaked in surprise, jabbing her finger at Laxus, who was blinking rapidly.

"Lucy, relax," I chuckled, "I'm joking. (Like I would ever let those two share a room together) Only get one room for you and me to share. Laxus can sleep outside," with that I turned around, looking at them from over my shoulder.

"Ashren," Lucy scolded, "Laxus can't sleep outside,"

"So you want to share a bed with him?"

"W-What? N-No-"

"I wouldn't mind it," Laxus shrugged calmly, placing a hand on his chin to think it over.

"L-Laxus! Don't agree! A-And it is n-never happening!" she whirled around to hit him upside the head. He scowled at the new bump beginning to grow. "You can get your own room Laxus," she concluded with a huff.

"Whoa, he is not using my money." I growled protectively. Lucy using my money, sure, I'm fine with that. I know she will pay me back some day, and doesn't borrow from me often. Laxus on the other hand. I would be dead before any of my precious jewels got into his meaty hands!

Lucy sighed, "Fine fine, he wont. He'll use his own money,"

"I don't want to use her cheap change anyway," Laxus folded his arms. Lucy slapped her hand against her forehead at his comment. He couldn't have just left it, could he?

"Cheap change, huh? You peasant?" I hissed. "I am richer then you could ever dream of being,"

"Doesn't matter how rich you are." he glared at me.

"Ashren, Laxus, come on," Lucy whined, stepping in between us.

Staring at each other in silence, we both stepped away. "Fine," we agreed. Turning to the words, I gave Lucy one last look.

"I'll be going then."

"Be careful," Lucy warned waving to me as I strolled calmly back into the woods. From behind my]e I could hear Laxus say,

"Yeah, definitely not a terrorist,"

"Oh, will you stop with that!" Lucy sighed in exasperation, "She is not a terrorist!"

"Then what is with the guns and disappearing without telling us what she is doing? She is shady!"

"You're shady!" Lucy countered.


	3. Arrival at Heaven's Grove

_So while I was writing this chapter, I kept listening to the song, __**"One Jump Ahead" from the Disney movie Aladdin. **_

_It was my inspiration. (Which will be what I do from now one.) _

_Starting from this chapter one, I shall (sort of) base/get inspiration for some of my chapters off of songs. Who here loves Disney songs? Or just Disney movies in general :D  
_

_For this chapter though, I tried a different type of writing style. I tried adding more detail and more of Lucy/Laxus' thoughts. Thought that might clear up things more. _

**3****rd**** Person POV.**

"I can't believe she just left" Lucy sighed, wishing that her dear redheaded companion would return soon. To see Ashren after all these years, and then to have her just leave like that, it was a little saddening. Granted, she knew Ashren would return soon. So she would simply have to wait patiently for her to reappear.

"Yeah, I can't believe it," Laxus smirked, obviously overjoyed with the thought.

With a huff, Lucy turned the corner, "Glad to see you are enjoying yourself,"

"Yeah, I really am." He nodded.

Rolling her eyes, Lucy trotted, almost skipped, joyfully through the streets. To think, she was finally here after all these years! She almost felt like doing a little twirl… ah, why not?

With a laugh she twirled joyfully in the streets, knowing sooner or later Laxus would make fun of her because of it. That didn't matter though. All that mattered was that she was finally here!

The lightning mage on the other hand though, said nothing. He watched with a silent contentment. He couldn't explain what it was about this girl. At times she made him want to smash his head against a boulder. Yet in other moments, she made him want nothing more then to stare into her eyes and get lost in them.

**Somewhere in the forest a redheaded girl growled menacingly as animals scrambled away**

Like he would ever want that though, please, don't be ridiculous.

Yet Laxus smirked despite himself. He'd never thought, in all his years, he would end up here in Heaven's Grove. Nor would he ever think he would be traveling along side a annoying redhead terrorist and a weird, if not unpredictable Stellar mage.

"We should probably find the hotel Ashren was taking about first." Lucy called in front of him.  
"Ah." He nodded in agreement. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, glancing down a few streets in search of a hotel. They would probably be lucky to even find a small hotel to stay the night in. This town was packed to the brim with citizens and travellers, all wanting to see the festival.

"We should probably try down this street," with a pause he realized there was no reply. "Hey, I said- huh? Lucy?" he did a full sweep around himself to find that little blond idiot was gone… again.

In shocked bewilderment, he suddenly felt very alone in the town. As if deja' vu had just smacked him in the face and was laughing at him.

Laxus was not lost. He didn't get lost.

Yet at some point on Lucy and his trip towards the hotels, they had gotten separated. So obviously, he wasn't lost, he had just… misplaced Lucy. In a really short amount of time no less.

Yeah, that was all it was. Anyone try to say other wise and he or she would have to deal with his wrath. And with the mood he was in right now, it was probably not a good idea to get on his bad side.

With that note, Laxus averted his eyes to the road in front of them, scanning the crowd for his missing companion. He had just seen her no less that two minutes ago. There was no way he could have lost her that quickly.

Wait… where exactly in the city was he? The north side? Or was it the south. The hotels were in the West, so if he headed in that direction, he should be able to find Lucy. Now, which way was the West?

His expression grew dark as he realized that there was not even anything that even slightly resembled a compass anywhere in this blasted town!

How could they not have a compass? Though a better question might be, why was he in such a large need for a compass? It shouldn't matter to him whether or not he ever makes it to the hotels or locates his missing companion.

Not in the slightest!

…Okay really, where the hell did that Blondie run off too!?

-0000-

"Laxus!" Lucy screeched, getting some odd looks. "I can't believe that idiot! Did he get himself lost again?! Gah! I knew I should have gotten him a homing device!" She had gotten all the way to the hotels by the time she had realized that Laxus was in fact no longer by her side. She should have made sure their hands were cuffed together before she took her eyes off of him.

"Laxus!" she called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Where are you!?" she paused to stop a few citizens on the street. "Excuse me, have you seen a big man with spiky blond hair and a scar going down his eye?"

Like every person before, they shook their heads, not knowing who in the world she was talking about.

How had no one seen him? He wasn't exactly a typical looking guy. He had very distinct qualities to him. So how?

With a heavy sigh, she trudged on. Perhaps he had walked himself all the way out of town? With his sense of direction she didn't doubt it. But even a person as directionally challenged as him should be able to tell when you are walking straight out of town and into a forest, right?

…_Right?!_

She quickened her pace. "Laxus!" she tried again, looking down every alley and street.

From the distance, Lucy could hear the faint sound of a cry. Looking in the direction of the voice, Lucy looked towards the commotion. From the crowd some one ducked in and out, several other men following after.

Squinting her eyes, she could only hope that what ever the commotion was, it some how involved Laxus. It would definitely make finding him easier. Yet at the same time, she prayed that Laxus at least had the decency to stay away from trouble.

In the moments Lucy was lost in thought, she hadn't noticed that everyone else had moved to the side to let who ever it was through, till it was to late.

"Ah!" Lucy yelped when something ran into her from the crowd. Falling onto her butt, she winced. "Ow, what the-" Looking up, she was exasperated to see a young boy. He was only a few years younger then her, probably 13 years old.

Short dirty blond hair struck up from his hair, curling and twisting in so many ways and directions that she couldn't help but wonder when was the last time he had brushed his hair. Or taken a bath for that matter.  
"S-Sorry." He stammered softly, looking up at her with baby blue eyes. His face, round with a light dust of freckles, was coated in dark bruises and cuts. "I-I'm so sorry, I have to go!" he scrambled to his feet, running down the street. Lucy watched him disappear down the street, pushing his way within the crowd.

"What was that about?" she mumbled softly, lifting herself up to her feet.

From behind her, several men erupted from the crowd, rushing forward. All of them dressed in dark black, with matching, and very unsightly, beards and hats. From first glance you would think they were all apart of some odd gang.  
"After him!" one commanded to the others, as they followed after the boy who had just passed only moments before.

It took every ounce of Lucy's will power not to stop and yell at the man who passed her for chasing after such a young boy, but she did not know the circumstances of the situation.

For all she knew that boy might be under their care and is running away, and they ran after him.

However, deep in her heart she knew, especially from that boy's appearance: that was not the case.

Turning on her heel she took down the street, in hot pursuit of the men who had just passed.

Some stopped to stare at her, not sure why she had joined the affair, but didn't seem to care much as they turned back to their normal lives. How could they just leave that young boy to fend for himself, with no aid at all? Just leave him to face those beatings that had marked his face in such a terrible way?!

Cutting down a narrow path, Lucy jumped over a few barrels that had been left lined up in the street for the owner of the bar next door to pick up. Heaving herself over them, she landed gracefully, pausing to take in her surroundings. From the voices, she pinpointed that they were but a few streets down… to her left!

Glancing down a few alleys she skidded to a halt at one, which held several dark figures with it. Ducking down, she looked down the back ally, which had lead straight to a dead end.

The men were crowded within it, cornering the boy she had seen before.

"No more running now, Sira.' The men smirked as he took a shaky step back.

Sira, was that his name?

"I-I don't want any trouble.," he stammered softly. "Just leave me alone." His voice wavered.

"Hah." The man slammed Sira into a wall, holding him by his by the collar of his shirt. "Too late for that kid. You brought this upon yourself! You street Rat."

"I-I haven't done anything wrong," the boy raised his voice in nervous anger as the pain from his back sunk in. "So please… stop this. Leave me be."

Without mercy, the man who held Sira inches from the ground snickered, "You should have thought of that before boy," The man brought his fist back, ready to add yet another bruise to Sira's face.

Lucy rose to her feet, quick to bring out her whip. With a snap of her wrist, she sent it flying to the man. Just as Sira closed his eyes, ready for another beating, the end of Lucy's whip entangled itself around the attacker's wrist, stopping the assault.

"W-What the-" With a good yank, he stumbled back, loosing his balance and falling to his knees. Whirling around, he looked to Lucy in rage, "Who are you!?"

With a hot glare, Lucy snapped her whip off of his wrist and back to her side. "My name doesn't matter," Lucy answered, snapping her whip to the side, daring any of the four men to make a move.

_She was sick of this. Sick of the way people treated one another. Taking advantages and hurting others, just because they were weaker then you. It wasn't right! It was just a sick as… as what Fairy Tail did to her. _

_ Fairy Tail. Oh no Lucy, don't think about it. Don't think about it. Focus! Focus! The boy, Sira, he needs you!_

"This doesn't concern you, girlie," One of the four men pointed to her. "So why don't you go running back to your shopping and girly things?"

A whip to the face sent him flying back into the others.

"You dissing my cute girly things," she hissed, glaring at them darkly.

The leader smirked, ignoring the now bleeding man. "What are you going to do about it, blonde?"

With a feral hiss Lucy shot her whip towards his face. The man grabbed it and pulled, causing her to fly through the air. Twisting to the side, she kicked the man she had first hit in the face, (Who had just gotten up only to be hit yet again. Poor guy) knocking him unconscious. The leader pulled out a knife and slashed at her, only for the piece of metal to rebound off of an invisible wall and fly out of his hand… into the shoulder of the third thug.

"AAAGGGGHHHH!" He cried, falling back. Lucy's eyes widened at the sight. That blade should've hit her, yet… it hadn't? It was if some invisible shield as blocked the knife.

From behind the fighting, Sira sighed in relief, his hand outstretched. He watched the blonde stranger continue to beat the remaining two up, keeping a steady barrier around her to protect her from any unseen attacks. With one of the guys unconscious and the other too enveloped in the pain the blade made on his shoulder, this should be easy for that mystery women.

Holding back a whine from her old wound on her sides, Lucy slammed her elbow into the 4th creeps face, making him stumble back, landing into a few of the barrels behind him. In a way, similar to that of bowling pin, the barrels fell one by one on top of the guy.

Lucy smirked. Three down, only one creepy boss to go.

"Don't move!" as if on cue, the boss' voice rang out. Whirling around, she gasped at the sight of Sira being tugged backward. "Don't move, or else!" The boss demanded, wrapping an arm around Sira's neck threateningly. The small boy squeaked, shocked the man had managed to sneak up behind him. He had been so focused on protecting the stellar mage that he hadn't bothered defending himself as well. "One step and I'll-"

A gunshot rang through the air, slicing the man's cheek. He, along with Sira, froze.

"Drop him," Lucy glowered, a smoking gun in her hand. She would have to thank Ashren for lending her one of her many magical handguns. Then again… she had no idea what she was doing. As soon as she saw that the man had grabbed that kid, she panicked and reached for the best thing she could.

Which in this case, was Ashren's gun. However, Lucy had never used a gun in all her life. She hadn't even meant to fire it just a few seconds ago. Her finger hit the trigger by accident as she pulled it out. Thankfully, neither of the two had been terribly injured.

The man before her panicked at the sight of the gun and loosened his grip. Sira sent a force field around himself and expanded it quickly, shoving the man behind him into the wall and knocking him out.

Lucy gasped. Was that magic Sira had just used right now? He must have been the one who was protecting her during the whole fight! A fight which was now over.

Silence filled the alley, as Lucy took a few deeps breaths, trying to steady the adrenaline that was pumping through her veins. She had fought many villains before, but something about this time was different.

In this fight, she didn't have… her old team to back her up. She had been completely alone. She had Sira, sure, but she barely knew him. She didn't even know if he was a good guy himself or not!

Slowly the adrenaline within her began to slow down, as if realizing the battle was over. Her body began to shack, beads of sweat traveling down her face.

"Oh, thank god!" she cried, throwing the gun down. "I didn't even now how to shoot! I was just going to point it at him!" She fell to her knees, chuckling hysterically. "Never again. I will never accept Ashren's guns again. How can she hold one of these things without her hands shacking anyway?!" she looked to her trembling fingers.

Sira stood next to her, mouth wide open. 'She didn't even know how to use a gun?! What if she hit me?!' He shuffled to her side nervously. However, she had saved his life, when no one else even gave him a second glance, "Um, ma'am?"

Lucy looked up at the boy with a bewildered expression. Oh that is right, the boy! He was still here. With shaky knees, she used the wall next to her for balance. "Sorry, just a moment." She smiled nervously at him. "Ow, ow, ow." She hunched forward when her sides began to sting.

"M-Ms! Are you okay?!" Sira gasped, stepping forward. Had she been injured?!

"No it's okay… really. Just some old wounds catching with me," Lucy muttered through gritted teeth. Sira frowned, unconvinced.

Lucy smiled at him, but hoped the kid wasn't too mad that she had pointed a gun at him, with such little experience that she had. She was simply satisfied that they had both gotten out of this safe and unharmed.

"Are you alright?" the young stellar mage asked softly as she began to regain her composure.

"I…I…" he nodded meekly, too speechless to utter a word. "I'm okay." He said softly. The girl smiled, relived

She held out a comforting hand to the young boy. "Thanks for helping me back there," she smiled. "My name is Lucy

"Ah um…" Sira's held tilted forward towards the ground in embarrassment. "N-No problem, Ms. Lucy. I'm Sira."

-000-

With a frustrated sigh, Laxus trudged through the city.

What was with this place? There were so many allies and streets, how did people get around so easily? He would probably have better luck if he looked for Lucy from the roofs. Then again though, she might be within the stores, knowing her.

Turning to one of the food vendors, Laxus knocked on the wooden counter to catch his attention. "Hey," he grumbled as the man turned to face him. "Have you seen a girl with blond hair and brown eyes around here? Had a blue ribbon in her hair too."

The man rubbed his chin in thought. "Nope, haven't seen any one like that around here Sir."

Laxus mentally cursed. "You sure? She's got a whip and a cloak on."

"Whip and cloak…" Something seemed to flicker in the back of the Vendor's mind because he suddenly frowned, "Wait yeah, I think I know who you are talking about. I think I saw her run by here not too long ago. She was in a rush."

"A rush?" Laxus frowned.

"Yeah. I think she was chasing after some people. Though I didn't get a good look at them." The vendor shrugged, turning back to his merchandise.

"Right, thanks," Laxus pulled away from the counter and back onto the busy street. So she had at least past by here? If so, then there must be some trace of her left. Lifting his nose to the air, he got a good whiff.

Several different scents rushed into his nose, mixing together. However one in particular caught his attention. He would recognize that strawberry scent anywhere. Lifting his head higher into the sky, he sniffed wildly to locate exactly where it was coming from. It was faint, but no doubt near by.

He practically gave the Vendor next to him a heart attack when he dropped to the ground to sniff it. "There," he muttered, scrambling to his feet to turn into the ally to his left.

What Laxus found though was not a blond celestial mage, but four unconscious men sprawled on the floor. One had been buried underneath several whine barrels, another was slammed into a wall, the third was sprawled out on the floor with a broken nose and unconscious and the final one was withering in pain from a knife sticking out of his shoulder.

Kicking the bleeding one slightly, Laxus leaned down to pick him up by the collar of his shirt. "Hey," he shook the man a bit to rouse him. Stirring ever so slightly, the man squinted at him blearily.

"W…What the-" he coughed. "Who are you?" he seethed through the stinging pain from his shoulder.

"Did you see a girl with blond hair run through here?" Laxus was quick to get to the point.

"T-That little brat?" the guy scowled. "How dare she… do this to us-" Laxus dropped the man to the ground, making him gag out in shock.

"W-Why would you do that?!" he bellowed in agony.

"So she was here, huh?" Laxus mused. "Her wounds must be hurting her since her scent is still so fresh here. She would have finished you all of much sooner if they hadn't. You weaklings."

"What are you?! The devil!?" The man gawked at him, talking down on him as if it was obvious that they would been beaten to bloody pulps.

Stepping over him, Laxus sniffed the air. Lucy had definitely been here, and hadn't left too long ago. She hadn't left alone though.

Someone was with her.

Prepared to hunt after Lucy's scent, his boot hit something metal. Looking down, he frowned at the sight of a black magical gun left unattended.

Had Ashren shown up? No, this other scent with Lucy definitely wasn't Ashren. It was something knew. Yet the gun clearly said '_Property of Ashren' _on the side.

Lucy must have borrowed it and left it here in the spur of the moment. The airhead.

Kneeling down, he picked it up with ease and continued on his search.

-0000-

Lucy chuckled softly as she watched Sira quietly munch on his food. After what happened back in the alleyway, Lucy had offered that the two of them go get lunch together. It was only fair after what happened, and besides, Sira's stomach was growling up as storm.

When they got there, they were seated right by the glass window, where they could see all the citizens passing by in a mad rush.

Sira didn't seem to mind them much, and dug right into his appetizer and main course. From the way he ate, as if he was savoring every bite. From his small figure, Lucy pondered on when the last time the kid had eaten.

"So Sira," Lucy leaned against her hands, watching joyfully as the young boy ate his fill. "Are you in town for the festival?"

"Oh uh-" He paused from chugging down his drink, "N-No I, live here in town."

"Oh! So you see the festival every year then huh? My companions and I came here to see it." Lucy explained.

Sira nodded meekly. "So are you a… traveler then?"

"Oh, I suppose you could call me that," Lucy nodded, "I don't really have any place certain to go to, and I don't have a… a home to go back to anymore." Her smile fell at the thought of it, making Sira regret bringing up the subject.

"…Sorry to hear that," he said softly.

"Oh no," Lucy lifted her head to wave it off, "Don't be. It isn't that bad. I could be traveling alone after all, but I have Laxus and Ashren by my side."

"You're friends?" Sira guessed.

"Yup. They are both really powerful mages too." She grinned.

"…Mages…" Sira repeated softly, looking back down at his food.

"Oh hey, speaking of which Sira. You're a mage too, right?" Lucy tilted her head to the side. The young boy in front of her snapped upward in response, shocked that she would ask.

"H-How do you know that?"

"Well," Lucy lifted her finger up to her chin, "I saw it when we were fighting those creeps. When they tried to hit me from behind, a barrier came between us. Like a shield. That was you, wasn't it?"

Sira flushed, stumbling clumsily over his words, "Y…Yeah uh that was me. I don't use magic often though, so my magic is really weak. A-And I can't fight at all since my magic is only used for defensive purposes. Cause they make shields and stuff, just like you said Ms."

"Lucy," Lucy corrected with a smile. "That was still pretty amazing what you did though. A shield against magic would sure come in handy in any fight,"

"…Not if you want to win a fight." Sira stabbed his salad a bit before stuffing the fork in his mouth. The two sat in silence, munching on their food awkwardly.

"You said you're friends were mages too, right? Are they celestial mages as well?" Sira said slowly, looking up from under his bands. .

Lucy smiled, happy that he was beginning to open up and talk more to her. "No, not at all. Laxus is a lightning mage and my other friend Ashren is a shadow mage." Now that Lucy had Ashren's magic on her mind, she realized that she had yet to tell Laxus what type of magic Ashren could do.

"A lightning and Shadow mage," the young boys eyes glimmered slightly with excitement. "A-Are they strong?"

She nodded. "Yup, super strong!"

"What exactly does Shadow magic do though?"

"Well," she chuckled nervously. "Many things actually. She can summon shadows, control other people's shadows. Sometimes, she can even have her shadows eat people."

"Eat people!" Sira exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah, but don't worry, she always has the shadows spit the people right back out." Lucy said quickly, hoping he wasn't too creeped out by that fact.

"Amazing," he said breathlessly. "So then, the lightning mage, Laxus right? C-Can he just… shoot lightning right out of his fingertips?"

"Yeah, it is really cool. He even has this matching lightning shaped scar that goes across his eye," Lucy lifted her finger to her eye, mimicking the path that Laxus' scar made cross his face.

"How did he get that? Did he-" Sira flushed, realizing he was asking too many questions. "Sorry I… don't mean to pry."

Lucy laughed. "It isn't a problem Sira. I actually don't know how he got that scar anyway," she looked up to the ceiling in thought. "It is a mystery really."

Sira nodded. He was almost tempted to ask Lucy how she had gotten her own scar across her face, but something held him back. The scar looked so fresh, as if it had been put there only recently.

Had she been in a fight or attacked?

"Can I ask you something though Sira?" Lucy's voice brought him back to reality.

"Y-Yeah," He nodded. It was only fair that he answer any question she might have, since he asked so many himself. Her intense gaze made him flush, and he grew timid. Not that he wasn't already.

"Why were those men chasing you?"

Sira felt his spirits drop. He knew this question was coming up.

"I… took something." He admitted softly.

"You stole?" Lucy gasped, making him flinch.

"Only some food…" he reached for his stomach. Through the thin piece of clothing he could feel his bones, sticking out of his skin. He hadn't eaten in over a week. "They caught me though, and started to um… to beat me. After a while I used my magic and got away, and they chased after me… then… well then you showed up."

"I… see.' Lucy nodded. Her suspicions were beginning to come true. The shredded cloths, attenuated figure. She supposed she just wished it wasn't the case.

"B-But-" Sira perked up suddenly, looking flustered, "Don't worry, I'm okay. I mean, this isn't anything new."

"You're beat up like this often?"

"O-Only if I get caught," he shrugged. Things like this, they were normal for him. A life as, well what they called him, a 'street rat', was nothing easy. He had often had to steal food and other things just to survive through the week.

"How often are you… caught?" Lucy tilted her head.

"…Not often. I'm… pretty good at what I do." Sira mumbled, averting his eyes to the ground. He was never proud of the life he had lived. The life of a thief.

Lucy almost felt like crying. "Sira what about… your family?"

Sira shrugged again, "I don't have one."

"You're alone…" Lucy whispered softly, wanting to reach out for the boy's hand. So she was right.

From everything she had seen, it should have been obvious. Still though, the fact that it was true… it made her heart ache.

Sira was an orphan, forced to thieve and steal from others just to survive. Why hadn't anyone done something to stop this?

She wanted to do something. To ask more questions and give him all the cloths and food he needed, but something stopped her. To her left, something hit the glass.

"Eh!" the two squeaked as something squished against the glass next to them, slamming into it with such force, they were surprised the glass didn't break from underneath the pressure.

"_I found you~" _from the other side, an intimidating figure stood within the crowd, hissed. The dark aura that surrounded him had Sira shaking in his seat.

Who was this guy!?

Lucy began to chuckle nervously at the sight, her voice wavering.

"Sira… this is Laxus," she motioned to the glass.

_And this is the end! Yay! Third chapter! XD So we end this story with the introduction of a new little character. A thief! And just a little heads up, we will be seeing a lot more of Sira from now on! Yay! Hey can I ask you all something, you guys don't mind Oc's right? Cause I love stories with Oc's, but I know not everyone is a fan of those. So if you don't like stories with Oc's this may not be the type of story for you. Just though I would give you a fair warning. _

_Anyway, Chow~!_

_-Amelia-_


	4. Hit me Women!

**_WHOA! I AM SO SO SOOO SORRY! I meant to update this weeks ago! I just got so caught up with Summer Break. We're cleaning my garage out, changing my room up, getting ready for the next school year, vacation. A lot has gone down!_**

**_I'm glad I got this up though! I hope you like it. Again, super sorry for the wait! _**

**_Pretty please, forgive me!_**

"So you beat them up." Laxus concluded.

"Basically, yes," Lucy nodded, taking a sip of her juice.

"And this kid helped you out?" he motioned to Sira, who looked ready to sink into the ground and disappear forever.

"Yes."

"…And you almost shot a guy?"

Lucy gulped at the memory, nodding slowly. "Sadly, yes I did. Thank you for returning the gun by the way." She lifted the hand pistol, which Laxus had thankfully removed the bullets from.

Laxus gave her a nod, as he rubbed his chin. He was still finding this hard to believe. He had seen everything, the gun, the beat up creeps, the kid who had been beaten up… yet he just couldn't bring himself to believe Lucy's story.

She wasn't a complete weakling, that was true, but to defeat four bandits by herself without using anything but her whip (And a gun, accidentally).

There was more to this girl then meets the eye.

"All the credit however completely goes to Sira." Lucy smiled, motioning towards Sira, who blushed. "I wouldn't have won if it wasn't for him watching my back."

"T-That isn't true Ms. Lucy." The younger mage mumbled, twiddling his thumbs together.

"Lucy." Lucy corrected him, nudging his shoulder a bit. Smiling bashfully, he nodded even if he didn't intend to stop calling Lucy 'Ms.'.

They had stayed in the café for a while, chatting until Laxus began to complain about sitting in the same place for so long.

It was nice to spend time with Sira; he was a really nice kid. Though he was very shy and reserved, he still had this playful look in his eyes. As if he was just waiting for the next adventure to pop up.

As they were leaving, Lucy turned to Sira with a smile, "So Sira, you sure you can get home by yourself without causing any more trouble?"

Flushing red, Sira nodded, "Y-Yes Ms. Lucy."

"Lucy." She sighed. Sira nodded meekly, giving both Laxus and her a quick bow before he shuffled down the street.

"Bye, Bye." he called over his shoulder.

"…Bye, bye Sira" Lucy waved to him. Waving shyly back, the young boy disappeared into the crowd.

The two stared at where the young shield mage once was before slowly turning to walk the other way.

"Are you sure," Laxus glanced at her.

"About what?"

"Letting him go. I know what you are thinking."

Lucy sighed, "Not really. But what right do I have to stop him? I mean, we're not his family, and we just met him. I don't want to force him into doing anything."

Laxus nodded thoughtfully, looking back into the crowd, as if expecting Sira to just pop up again. "We should go." He finally suggested after a great pause.

Nodding in agreement, Lucy stepped forward. "Where should we go though?" she inquired.

"The hotel." Laxus answered simply.

"Aww, already?" the young mage titled her head. "It is only mid afternoon though."

"We've been running around all day." He pointed out.

"No, you have been running around all day." Lucy corrected, "I wasn't able to sight see as much as I wanted because I was focused on finding you. So, since you made me search for you, you can make it up to me by accompanying me."

Leaning in, he scowled down at her. "I don't see how that makes any of this fair. I was the one who lost you, it isn't the other way around."

"Oh really?" she scoffed, folding her arms. "You lost me? I think you are delusional."

"I think you're an air head." He countered.

"So says the guy who doesn't know which way is left or right."

"I know which was is left or right." He loomed over her.

Unaffected by his menacing demeanor, Lucy stood her ground. "Then prove it by accompanying me for another hour around the town."

"Tch." He looked away. He hated it when she used his own words against him. Turning his pride against him by challenging him to such petty things, she really knew how to irritate him to no end.

"So?" The celestial mage cooed innocently.

"Whatever." He trudged forward. "Let's just get this over with."

Giggling in victory, Lucy skipped after him.

"There are so many magic stores here!" the young celestial mage cheered, jumping up and down in excitement as they passed a few.

"_Yay_," Laxus scowled

"No Laxus, please don't get too excited on me." Lucy glared at him. Turning back to the stores, she grabbed Laxus' arm, "Lets try that one!" she urged.

"You go ahead. I'll stay here." Laxus grumbled, yanking his arm away.

"Oh no no, not this time Laxus." Lucy reached for his arm again. "If I leave you here you'll just go wandering off again. You're coming with me."

Grumbling something, he allowed himself to be yanked into the store by the stubborn younger mage. She had such endless energy, it was as if he walking around with a child. You could never truly please her and she had the smallest attention span he had ever seen.

"Why do I feel like you are insulting me?' Lucy grumbled, glancing at him as she began to go through the stores rows of t-shirts.

"You're paranoid." He stated simply, looking away. She was also apparently telepathic.

Lucy stared at him suspiciously before her eyes lit up on the store behind him. With a smile she grabbed Laxus' arm and dragged him over. Once she got there she pulled out a small teddy bear from a pile of stuffed animals. It had fluffy, dirty-blonde hair and wide blue eyes.

"Isn't this cute?" she held up the little teddy bear with a smile.

Leaning against the wall, Laxus rolled his eyes, "Just get what you want and lets go." He waved her off, not to interested in ever single stuffed animal she wanted to show to him.

Pouting, Lucy placed the teddy bear back on the stand. Scanning over the cute animals they had, Lucy paused at one. Covering her mouth, she forced back her laughter. Reaching out, she took yet another stuffed animal into her arms.

"Laxus." Lucy's voice caught the older mans attention. Slowly turning to meet her, he blinked as she pushed something into his face.

In her hands she held a lightning bolt plushy. There was nothing really special about it besides the blank expression that had been drawn on it.

"It looks just like you." Lucy grinned, looking back and forth from the plushy to Laxus to match their facial expressions.

His frown grew deeper, not too amused by the plushy. Yet when she insisted on buying it, he quickly grabbed a small plushy that was shaped like a cloud. A happy grin had been drawn on it, reminding him of Lucy.

"Then this one is you. It matches perfectly."" He announced, holding it out to her. Taking it into her hands, she blinked.

"What are you trying to say?" her cheeks puffed out in rage.

"Besides that you are an air head and always have your head up in the clouds… nothing." He shrugged casually.

Lucy glared at him, resisting the urge to stomp her foot down on his.

"I've decided that I am going to ignore every insult that comes out of your mouth so that I can enjoy my day," she decided, crossing her arms.

"Ignorance, well done," Laxus nodded.

With a huff she turned away from him and stomped away.

"We need supplies, hurry up!" she barked back at him, ignoring his triumphant smirk.

The two in an awkward, if not very annoyed silence, bought their supplies and other souvenirs, heading towards the hotel.

"So there isn't anything else you need?" Lucy inquired, looking up at him.

"No." Laxus answered. He looked forward and spotted what appeared to be some type of miniature coliseum. There was a large crowd gathered at the front.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Laxus' ears perked up at the sound the crowd echoed.

"Hear that Lucy?" He smirked, turning to the cheers.  
"Oh no," Lucy sighed, "Lets not get involved,"

"It looks like some sort of tournament," Laxus continued, ignoring any words that came out from her mouth.

"Laxus no-"

"There are prizes," he began to walk towards it, dragging Lucy along with him.

"Laxus I am serious, no-"  
"First prize wins 50,000 jewels." Laxus motioned to the sign that held the rules and many prizes.

"Come on slow poke! We're winning that prize!" Lucy suddenly bolted forward, now dragging the lightning mage with her.

"Success," he thought with a smirk.

"We would like to compete please." Lucy smiled at the women who sat at the enrollment desk.

The women smiled warmly at them, nodding. "You're names?"

"Lucy Heartfilia and Laxus Dreyar." Lucy answered.

"Are you both older than 17?"

Lucy paused, frowning. Would she still be able to compete even if she was 17?

"Yes." Laxus suddenly answered behind her.

"Alright. The match will begin shortly. The rules shall be told before you enter the arena. Good luck." She handed them their participation numbers and motioned for them to join the rest of the competitors behind her.

Pulling Laxus into the group of competitors, Lucy handed him his participation number.

"18," he mumbled, looking down at the piece of paper.

"I'm 17," Lucy smiled.  
"Yeah I know. That lady might not have let you participated if she knew you were just 17 though." Laxus nodded, "But what number are you?"

"…I am 17," she repeated with a small frown.  
"Yeah I get that, but what number are you?"

"As I said, I am 17."

"I don't care about that, what number are you?" Laxus began to raise his voice.

"17! I am 17 Laxus!" Lucy yelled.

"I don't care about your age! What is your number!?"

"My age- what the hell Laxus!? I'm not talking about my age! My number for the competition is 17!"

"Why didn't you just say that!?" Laxus hissed.

"Because I thought you were smart enough to realize I was talking about my number and not my age!"

"You stupid blonde!" he began to smirk, holding back a laugh.

"You're a blond too Laxus! You have no room to judge!"

He ignored her, nudging her forward as the group began to move. With a squeak, Lucy stumbled forward, glaring furiously at Laxus.

Snorting at the scene, Laxus laughed, "Don't get left behind,"

"Gah!" Lucy growled in frustration, hitting his shoulder.

They entered the arena where a large circular stone was placed in the middle. A man ushered all of the competitors onto the stone.

**"The rules are simple**," the announced began, turning to the competitors, "**All you have to do is knock out all other contestants out of the ring. The last one standing inside the ring will be the winner. You may also use your magic if you wish."**

"Sounds easy enough," Lucy mumbled to Laxus, who nodded.

"Then it should be easy to win." Laxus concluded. The two blond mages smirked at each other. It didn't matter which one of them succeeded, for only one of them had to win. They had double the chance of getting that money since they were both competing. Laxus patted Lucy on the shoulder before circling around to the other side of the ring. They would make their way towards the center and take people out as they went.

**"BEGIN!" **

Lucy rushed forward, taking out a man to her left before he could react. Wailing in shock, he stumbled back, falling off the edge of the ring and to the ground below. Ducking below a burst of water she threw her whip forward and wrapped it around the mage's foot. She pulled him to the side, causing him to hit two other competitors who lost their balance, sending all three of them over the edge. Laxus didn't bother using his magic yet. Most of the other competitors where small enough that he could simply swing his fists around and he would hit a few people. The two blondes began to make their way forward.

Oddly enough… this wasn't that hard. Sure, Lucy had a little trouble from time to time, but she was actually feeling rather confident in her ability to win this.

Now, if say she got to the end of this, but Laxus was also another final contestant, she might have a problem. She knew she was not even slightly strong enough to beat him yet.

Maybe he would go easy on her?

Nope, not likely.

Lucy squeaked as a competitor wearing a metal helmet that covered his face ran into her. Stumbling back, she caught the person in her arms. To stop both of them, mainly herself, from falling out of the ring she dug her heels into the ground, pushing her weight forward.

She had barely managed to keep herself in the ring thanks to this guy in her arms. Speaking of him, he looked over his shoulder up at her in surprise.

He hadn't expected her to catch him, or some how manage to keep both of themselves in the ring.

Lucy frowned at the guy. He had almost made her lose. Not that it mattered too much, since Laxus would still be in the competition.

Preparing to throw him over her shoulder so that she could win, she paused in realization to just how light this guy was.

He was also rather small for an adult.  
_Wait a minute._

Taking a closer inspection, she could see small tuffs of dirty blond hair sticking out from the bottom of the helmet, and baby blue eyes peeking up at her from the visions lines across it.

"Oh, hello there," Lucy lifted the metal helmet a bit to get a clearer look at the familiar round and freckled covered face. "Fancy running into you here, huh Sira?" she smiled.

Flushing at the sight of her, Sira blinked, "M-Ms. Lucy," he stuttered.  
"Lucy Sira, it is Lucy." She chuckled as she took his arm and helped him to his feet. "I didn't know you were competing in this competition as well."

"I uh… yeah I am. You are too?" Sira said slowly, glancing nervously for any attackers that might approach them.

"Laxus and me both actually," she motioned to her companion just as he punched another competitor right out of the ring. "However, I have to ask, aren't you a little young to be competing in the competition?"

Sira looked to his feet in shame, "I am but… I really need…"

"The money?" Lucy guessed. He nodded meekly. "But Sira, aren't you injured? That fight against those creeps was only a few hours ago." She reached out to gentle touch the side of his cheek.

He jumped at the sudden contact, yet stopped himself from pulling away. He looked up at her wildly, surprised at her gentle touch.

"I don't want you pushing yourself," she continued with a warm smile.

Not use to such caring tones from others, Sira blinked. "Aren't you… injured as well? I mean… you were also in the fight a… a few hours ago."

Lucy grinned. "I'm fine. I'm a mage after all.

"So, I promise to keep your secret, as long as you stay close, okay?"

Dumbfounded, he nodded in silence. "T…Thank you Ms. Lucy." He blushed.

"Lucy. Just Lucy," she whined, giving him a little shove. With a sheepish smile, he nodded.

"So um…" the younger mage paused to look around, realizing that they were still competing. "Want to uh-"

"Don't even have to ask Sira," she ran forward. Stumbling after her, he slammed the opening to his helmet closed so that his face would be hidden.

-00-

**"Only three competitors left!**" The announcer proclaimed as the crowd began to cheer. "**Who shall be the victor?!"**

Lucy bit her bottom lip, looking from Sira to Laxus nervously. From the look in Laxus' eyes, he must have realized that it was in fact Sira who was under the mask.

How could he tell? Perhaps the ways Sira moved, or how small he was? Or maybe it was the fact that when ever someone got close to the kid, Lucy would hit them so hard, they would go flying out of the ring?

Yeah, Laxus would answer with choice number 3.

Lucy and Laxus locked gazes. Giving her older companion a pleading look, Laxus frowned.

He knew what she wanted. She wanted to throw the competition so that the money would go to Sira.

Oddly enough, he really didn't mind the idea. It was true that he might have found it cowardly or stupid to let a runt like him win a couple months before… but now… well he couldn't even explain it now.

After everything that had happened to him, he actually felt that letting that kid win was the right thing to do.

So with that thought in mind, he nodded to her. She smiled brightly at him, mouthing a 'Thank you," before she turned to Sira.

"Sira," she said, "Stay back for now. This one is mine." She called.

Dumbfounded, he stammered a confused, "W-What? But Ms. Lucy t-that man is-"

"I got it Sira," Lucy interrupted him, grinning. Laxus smirked back at her, bending his knees for an attack. Lucy copied his movement, matching his smirk.

It was their turn. Lunging for one another, Sira almost jumped when the two collided.

The crowd however was eating it up, cheering at every punch and kick the two blond mages threw at each other. With Laxus' raw and over powering strength and Lucy's quick movements and intelligence, the fight was something to behold.

Lucy had never been much of a fighter to begin with after all; so relying on her brain was the best option.

"Ready to lose?" Laxus smirked, leaning in a bit so that their faces were only inches apart.  
"In your dreams," she chuckled

"You love to show up in those a lot, don't you?"

Lucy felt herself blush, "Y-You pervert!" she screamed, shooting her foot up to kick him in the jaw. "Not funny at all Laxus!" she continued her attacks. Why did he always insist on using such cheesy pick-up lines? Or a better question, why use pickup lines at all?

Kicking upward, Laxus barely moved back to avoid a heel to the chin. Jumping back a bit, Laxus and Lucy paused to stare at each other. They both glanced to Sira, their eyes narrowing.

It was a good thing all the attention was on them, or the crowd might just question was Sira was just standing there awkwardly, not sure what to do. So before any of the heat could die down, the two charged again.

"Laxus." Lucy whispered as the two passed each other, trying to get a hit.

"What?" he grumbled under his breath, turning to face her yet again.

"One of us needs to lose." She reminded him, glancing towards Sira, who towards the side of the arena, unsure whether he should join the battle or wait.

"Oh, right." Laxus blinked, recalling what their mission was.

She frowned when she heard the older mage begin to grumble to himself.

"Lose to a girl, lose to Sira. Lose to a girl, or lose to Sira." He repeated constantly to himself. Either way Laxus knew he would have to lose this competition, but he wasn't sure what was worst.

Losing to a little brat like Sira, though no one else knew he was a kid, or _lose_ to Lucy?

However, if he lost to Lucy, she would then lose to Sira. Which would mean the crowd would think Sira was stronger than Lucy. Which would mean Sira is strong then him as well.

Switched scenario, he could beat Lucy, but then just lose to a little brat. Either way it is faking though, fore Lucy could never beat him. Granted, she could hold her own, but recently she hasn't used her celestial keys. Which, as a celestial wizard, puts her at a large disadvantage.

Now that he thought about it, why doesn't she use her keys? She hadn't used them once since they started traveling together.

Well no, that's a lie. She would summon them to talk, but never in battle. Why was that?

Laxus sighed.

"Screw it. Hit me women." Laxus snapped at her.

"What you say?" Lucy snapped. She hated it when he used that tone at her.

"Hit me! _Women. _" Laxus repeated again. He knew Lucy hated it when he called her that.

Which would mean she- Ah, there it is.

With all her fury, Lucy twirled around to kick him square in the jaw. Having relaxed his body, and putting no strength to shield against the attack, Laxus was shot out from the ring, landing hard on the ground.

**"And Laxus Dreyar has been literally kicked out of the ring!" **The announcer gasped.

Snapping out of her rage, Lucy blinked, looking to Laxus in surprise. Sitting up, he smirked at her, running his thumb across his jaw. It was a nice kick, it made his jaw soar.

"Laxus," Lucy whispered softly, staring down at him from the railing. He smirked at her, motioning for her to continue the battle. She wasn't sure if she should feel insulted that he faked a loss to her, or proud that he was doing this for Sira.

Speaking of Sira, she turned to face him. He jumped at her sudden attention. Even through the helmet, she could see he was looking around nervously, as if hoping she wouldn't beat him up too badly.

Shacking her head, she motioned for him to attack. "Lets end this, Sira!" she grinned.


	5. Sleepover!

**New chapter! yay! I hope you like it! Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors that I might have made!**

"Sira.' Lucy whispered. "If you're going to fight me, you have to actually try and _fight me."_

Sira bit his bottom lip underneath his helmet, dodging another blow Lucy tried to make. "I-I'm sorry Ms. Lucy but I… I don't want to hurt you." He stammered.

"One of us is going to get hurt a bit Sira. It's a duel, it's what happens in a duel." She tried to take out his legs, but he jumped back. He was really good at defense. His offense, not so much.

"I-I know." He stuttered, "But I… You're my… well I mean to me you're… I mean, I'm probably being pushy but I sort of think of you…" the young teen blushed madly, glad Lucy couldn't see how embarrassed he was. "To me you're a f…"

"…A friend?" Lucy finished for him, smiling brightly.

Surprised, his looked down, flustered.

"Don't be ashamed in that Sira." Lucy grinned. "You're my friend to." Her words shocked him. Looking at the older mage, Sira's eyes shinned brightly through his vision lines in his helmet as a small smile pulled on his lips.

He had a friend. Something about those four words made him overjoyed.

"…Really?" he asked meekly.

"Of course you're my friend Sira. You're Laxus' too, even if he wont admit it." She chuckled, moving to hit him again. He ducked down, and shuffled to the side. "However, right now, we need to focus on this match. I need you to do exactly as I say."

"Exactly as you say?" he repeated, confused.

"I want you to win Sira.' She smiled. "So when I tell you to, I need you to attack me."

"B-But Ms. Lucy, I'm not good with offense." Sira frowned.

"I know Sira, it's fine. Trust me, okay?" her confident grin made Sira nod.  
"Okay.' He whispered softly.

"So when I say 'now' I want you to push a shield at me." Lucy whispered in his ear as she tried to punch him, missing.

He blinked. "O-Okay."

After a few more attacks, Lucy pushed Sira all the way to the edge of the ring. The two circled each other, and Lucy smirked when her back hit the railing.

"Now! Sira!" Lucy commanded. Turning his palm to her, he shot every amount of magic he had left without a second thought. The large force field that erupted from him hit Lucy in an instant, and sent her flying from the stage, landing in a large heap in a grocer's fruit cart.

"Oh my!" some of the audience gasped. "Is she alright?"

Laxus and Sira were quick to react.

"Oh no. Ms. Lucy!" Sira gasped, jumping off the stage to run to her. "Are you okay?! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to use so much force!" Sira and Laxus got the fruit cart together, taking Lucy's hands to lift her out.

Sputtering a bit, she shook her head to collect her thoughts, "Whoa..." she mumbled. "That's… really some shield you got there Sira," she chuckled.

"I'm so sorry. So, so sorry," Sira continued to apologize. "I-I didn't mean to hurt you or anything Lucy. I swear. When you said 'now', I panicked! Please forgive me Lucy,"

"Sira. Sira slow down!" Lucy held her hand up to silence him. "It is alright, really. That is what happens when two people fight each other. No harm done," she assured.

Not very convinced, he shuffled his feet nervously. "B-But I-"

Reaching out, Lucy placed a hand on his head. "Sira." She said sternly, though her voice was soft. "I'm fine. That was part of the plan… remember?" she chuckled as she leaned in so only he could hear. "You did great."

Blushing furiously at the praise, Sira couldn't help but grin sheepishly. "Well um… if you say so."

"I know so. Now go get your prize." She nudged him forward. Stumbling a bit, looking back only once before he rushed to the stage.

"**And the winner, is competitor number 4!"**

The crowd began to cheer as Sira was handed the large bag of money. Taking it carefully into his hands, he beamed towards Laxus and Lucy. By the announcers command, Sira lifted his prize for all to see. The crowd erupted into cheers

Lucy and Laxus clapped along with the audience, happy to see the young mage winning the battle.

It was nice, seeing Sira being praised for his actions instead of being yelled at because of them. She felt very proud that this little boy was surviving so well on his own.

When the crowd began to move out, Sira rushed to where his two new blonde friends were waiting. As soon as he was close enough, and sure no one was really paying attention, he bowed to them.

"T-Thank you so much." He stammered. "B-but," lifting his head, he held the bag of money out to them. "This really… doesn't belong to me. You two should have won."

Looking at each other, Lucy and Laxus blinked.  
"You keep it kid." Laxus lifted up a hand to push the bag back to him.

"But you-"

"We wanted you to win Sira. Besides, I saw how well you were fighting out there. For someone who is only good at defense, you were awesome!" She grinned. "Besides, you need that money more then we do."

Slowly lifting up his helmet to stare at them in surprise, Sira blinked his wide blue eyes in astonishment. These people… they were amazing. They went this far, just for a stranger like him.

Smiling a bit, he nodded.

Hesitantly, Sira looked at Lucy. "Are you sure you are okay Lucy?" Sira said softly as the three began to walk back to the hotels.

"I'm positive," she assured him. "I'm honestly happy with the way things turned out."

"Really?" he inquired.

"Yeah. I mean, after all, you finally called me 'Lucy'." She grinned. Sira paused, his face growing red in realization.  
"I… I mean I-"

Lucy began to laugh, patting his back. "It made me happy," she repeated. The three continued to walk until they reached the hotel district, where they stopped right in front of their hotel.

"You're staying here?" Sira inquired, peering up at the building.

"Yeah." Lucy nodded. "So if you ever need anything Sira, you can find us here. Unless Laxus gets lost that is."

Glaring down at her, Laxus folded his arms. Lifting his hand up, he pinched her cheek, pulling roughly on the skin. "Or if this air head gets caught in a fight again." He grumbled.

"Laxhuuuus, dat huuurts" she whined, swatting his hand away from her cheek.

Sira chuckled at the two, giving them both warm smiles. It had been a very long time since he had this much fun. Or even just laughed.

"So… thank you for today." Sira gave them a meek bow. "I guess I'll see you both… later?" he cleared his throat, hoping he didn't sound too anxious.

Smiling at the younger boy, Lucy grinned, "Of course. We can hang out again tomorrow, if you want."

With a smirk, Laxus nodded, "We can go beat up more freaks too."

"Correction, Sira and me can beat up more freaks." Lucy turned to him.

"Really? Oh but from what I heard, you _accidentally _beat them up." Laxus snickered.

Puffing her cheeks out in anger, Lucy placed her hands on her hips. "No, I said I _accidentally_ almost shot one. There is a difference."

"Right." He smirked.

Sira looked back and forth between the bickering too, slowly smiling. They reminded him of how a couple would speak.

_Oh wait… were they a couple? Maybe he should ask? Oh wait, what if they weren't? That would be awkward, and not to mention embarrassing. _

If they were, maybe they would tell him on their own. Lucy would have probably said something about it by now.

Maybe they didn't even like each other in that way?

"Air head." Laxus snickered.

"Bone head." Lucy countered.

"Nut job."

"Porker!"

"Did you just call me fat?" Laxus hissed dangerously.  
"Maybe I did, Tubby."

"Well windbag, hate to break it to you, but this 'fat' you speak of, his pure muscle." He motioned to his arms.  
"Oh really? Doesn't look that way to me." Lucy folded her arms.

_Yeah… maybe they didn't like each other in that way. _

Yet… Sira could see those looks they gave each other. How their gaze would linger on each other just a little bit longer when they thought the other wasn't looking.

So maybe… they just hadn't realized their feelings?

Chuckling, Sira flinched when the two looked at each other.

"What you laughing at?" Laxus growled.  
"O-Oh nothing." Sira shook his hand. "I just… remembered a joke. So um… yeah, I'll see you two later?" he said quickly.

"Yeah, of course." Lucy smiled, punching Laxus' arm for how rude he was being. Laxus scowled at her, shoving her slightly back.

They glared at each other, sparks shooting between them. Sira chuckled again, and waved.

"Okay, I'll see you later." He waved, moving down the street.  
Watching him go, Lucy and Laxus exchanged frowns and turned back to him. "Sira. Do you have anywhere to stay?" Lucy called softly.

Surprised by her question, he paused and stammered, "I-I uh… y-yes I do! Well it sort of- no I do have a place to stay." He changed his wording quickly, hoping they hadn't caught his slip up.

"I mean Sira, do you actually have a roof to sleep under tonight or do you just…" Lucy paused, hesitant to ask. "Do you sleep in the streets?" she asked tentatively.

Stepping back, Sira recoiled away from them. "I… sometimes…." He shrugged. This was bad. Now they were asking about where he slept? He didn't want them taking pity on him. He appreciated the gesture they did for him before with the money, but he didn't want them taking anymore pity on him.

"Where are you staying now?' Lucy inquired, careful with her words.

"Not too far from here." He shrugged.

"Where exactly?" Laxus asked bluntly, his eyes narrowed.

"…" Sira shrugged. "Um… at this building."

"An orphanage?" Lucy spoke again  
"No." Sira frowned. "It's… well it's abandoned." He admitted softly.  
"It's abandoned? You're living in an abandoned building?" Lucy gasped.

Sira flinched. "Yeah but… it's fine." He put on the best smile for them. They were really nice people, he didn't need them to worry or have pity for him. "I actually really like it there."

Lucy stared at him, her gaze piercing his own. Almost unable to move away from that look she had, he blinked wildly. "…No." she said softly.

"Eh?" Sira squeaked as Lucy grabbed his wrist, holding him in place.

"I wont allow it! It isn't right!" she insisted, yanking on his arm. Stumbling forward, Sira fell into Lucy's arms, just as she wrapped them around his small frame. "Someone like you… it isn't right the way you are treated." Lucy whispered softly into his ear.

Her words sounded so pained, so irritated, that Sira could hardly believe that they were all because she was worried about him. No one had ever even… given him a second glance.

"…Lucy…" he mumbled softly into her shoulder.

_Warm. Being in Lucy's arms… it was warm._

"It is too strange." Her grip tightened. "I can't accept it. I wont accept it!" Pulling away, she placed her hands on his shoulders. "Stay with us tonight!"

"What?" Sira, along with Laxus, gawked at her.

"We have plenty of room. And it can only be for the night if you want." Lucy explained quickly, staring at the young mage desperately. She didn't understand why, but she didn't want Sira to be alone.

Who knows what could happen. Those goons might find him again, and this time, Lucy wouldn't be there to help.

She couldn't allow that. She didn't want this sweet little boy to be hurt anymore.

Sira blinked wildly, looking from her to Laxus.

Oh yeah, Laxus.

"Don't you agree, Laxus?" Lucy smiled over her shoulder at him.

Laxus blinked, folding his arms. With a deep scowl, he sighed. "There is no way I could make you say other wise, so sure." He grumbled, waving it off. "Lets just get inside already."

"I-I couldn't!" he protested. "You paid with your own money for those rooms. I couldn't just… I-I couldn't…" he trailed other, shuffling nervously.

Smiling warmly at him, Lucy reached out to poke his forehead, "I insist Sira."

"B-But-!" Sira let out a squeak as Laxus shoved him forward towards the front door of the hotel.

"Just get in there you brat." He commanded with a wave of his hand.

"W-Wha-?"

"Laxus. Don't be so harsh on him." Lucy scolded, pinching his arm.

"He is taking forever!" Laxus argued, pinching her cheek back. They stood there for a few seconds smacking and pinching each other before they seemed to settle their difference and continue to push Sira inside.

"W-Wait a minute." Sira's feeble attempts at escaping were to no avail.

Taking his hand, Lucy lead Sira into the building towards the stairs. Sira said nothing as Lucy lead him to their room.

What could he say without sounding like a fool? He could thank them. Yeah, that sounded good. No one had ever offered to let him stay the night, away from the cold of the outside world.

"I… _Thank you…." _He finally managed to choke out as they reached their room. Pausing from opening the door, Lucy beamed at him.

"You don't have to thank us Sira. I'm actually really happy. It will be like a giant sleep over."

"Sleep over." Laxus scoffed at the thought.

"Hey, sleep overs are awesome!" Lucy pouted at him as she swung open the door.

"Or you're just a creeper." Laxus stated dryly.

"Creeper?! How am I a creeper?' she stopped from entering the room to gawk at him.

"You dragged this poor kid up here to spend the night when you're just a stranger. Sounds like a creeper to me." Laxus smirked.

"I am not!" Lucy puffed her cheeks out in anger. "I didn't want him sleeping outside in the cold."

"So you drag him up here? Nice."

"Shut up Laxus! You dragged him in here just as much as me."

"You started it."

"You only went along with it. It's nicer then anything you've ever done." The young celestial mage hit her older companions arm again.

"Oh yeah, cause savin' you're life definitely isn't nice." Laxus scoffed.

Sira blinked. _Laxus had saved Lucy's life? When? How?_

Lucy opened her mouth to reply, but came up short. With a pout of anger, she turned away. "That doesn't count."

"Hah, course it doesn't." Laxus shook his head at the younger mage, pushing her forward so Sira and him could enter.

Once the door was closed, Lucy took in the room with a smile. "This is nice." She commented, circling the room once, leaving Sira to stand awkwardly in the middle of it.

He had never been in a hotel before. They were rather clean, had a fresh smell, and the beds were neatly made. Oh wait, they had beds. When was the last time he had slept in an actually bed.

Way too long really. He wanted nothing more to run forward and dive on top of the comfortable looking mattress, but the memory that he was here as a guest kept him in place.

Looking over his shoulder Sira could see Lucy digging through the closest while Laxus plopped down on the couch with a demeanor that said, "I own this place'. With the way the older mage sprawled out and crossed his arms over his chest, Sira didn't doubt that is what he was thinking.

"Okay Sira," Lucy announced, coming back towards him, "I got you your pillow." She held it up with pride. "Now it is late. So you should probably head to bed, okay?"

He nodded meekly. After a moment of silent, he opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. Growing his courage he titled his head, "Are you…sure?" he whispered tentatively.  
Lucy grinned at him. "Yeah, I'm positive Sira." tossing him a pillow, he caught it clumsily, and smiled nervously at her.

"O-Okay." He nodded, "If you are sure."

"I am. Now go get some rest." She motioned towards the second bed, which he had gladly accepted. Crawling into it, he ran his fingers over the soft sheets. Laying down to test it, he smiled at the feeling of sleeping on clouds.

He could fall asleep forever on this bed. Sira might have, if he hadn't remembered he was sharing a room with two other people. Sitting up, he examined the room to find it only had two beds. "L-Lucy." He called quickly.

"Yes?" she asked, as she continued her search through the closet for spare blankets.

"If I'm sleeping here, wont you two have to share a bed?" he pointed back and forth between her and Laxus. Both of them stared at him, before Lucy's face grew red.

"No!" she said quickly. "Laxus is sleeping on the couch."

He snorted, folding his arms to lay his head back.

"Wont that hurt your back?" Sira asked tentatively.

"I'm not a weakling, kid." Laxus glanced at him.

"O-Oh yeah, I know I just… I mean, I don't want to take your bed if you would be sleeping on the couch and I-"

"It's fine." Laxus interrupted him, moving to lay on his back and turn his back towards him. "I'm fine with the couch."

Surprised, Sira slowly nodded. "If… you're sure."

"I am." Laxus answered simply.

"Then it is settled, not get some sleep Sira." Lucy motioned for him to lay down. Nodding he gave Lucy one last look.

"Um… Lucy?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

-000-

The next morning, Sira awoke a warm feeling surrounding his body. He body was relaxed, and his head was beginning to awake from its slumber.

When was the last time he had woken up feeling this good?

Snuggling closer into the blankets around him and the pillow at his head, Sira mused over his new found addiction to beds. _He loved beds. He loved them with a fiery passion. They were amazing things and if he could, he would go back and kiss the creator of them and bow at their feet. _

Chuckling at the thought, he turned over a bit, moving to place his hands over his eyes when he accidentally moved into the light of the sun peeking in through the windows.

Grumbling in protest, the sun was suddenly blocked by golden locks.

"Good morning Sira," Lucy smiled down at him. Sira, his vision still hazy, rubbed his eyes.

"…Lucy?" he guessed, slowly sitting up.

"Yup. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," he yawned, stretching his arms. Lucy chuckled at Sira's appearance. He looked very cute with bed head, and the way he kept rubbing his eyes to get ride of the sand that accumulated around them. It was rather adorable.

"Have any dreams?" She asked.

"…Not really." He yawned again. "Wait no… I had one. There was this huge mountain by the ocean. Then suddenly… a giant fish came out of the ocean and ate the mountain whole." Sira titled his head towards the ceiling, blinking wildly.

Lucy covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Sira was so cute when he was half asleep! No, he was just cute in general!

"That is some messed up dream." Laxus grumbled from his spot on the couch. Sitting up, he stretched his large arms up towards the ceiling to stretch his back. Lucy blinked at the sound of multiple pops coming from it.  
"Did you sleep okay?" she asked slowly.

"Peachy." He grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, which must have been sore.

Lucy rolled her eyes at him. "How about tonight I give you some extra pillows?"  
"A foot massage and a back rub would be great too."

"Never going to happen." Lucy turned away. Laxus snickered at her back, throwing his legs over the side of the couch to get to his feet.

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

"I can always find a way to blame you Laxus." Lucy countered.

"Go that right." Laxus smirked at her playfully. She smirked back, both of them staring at each other for a short while before looking away.

Sira silently watched the two and their stares, smiling to himself. They definitely liked each other! There was no other explanation!

"Well hey," Lucy moved to grab her whip to attach to her belt, "Shall we go get some breakfast?" Lucy inquired, looking over her shoulder at the two. Sira instantly perked up at the mention of food.

"Food." Sira and Laxus paused to look at each other when they spoke in unison.

"The kid agrees," Laxus pointed to Sira. "We should go get food."

Lucy laughed. "Okay we will. There is a small little restaurant right next door, we can go there."

Laxus nodded in acceptance. Rubbing his fingers through his air, he trudged towards the bathroom. "We'll go when I'm done in the bathroom." He waved his hand around absentmindedly.

"Alright." Sira nodded.

"No," Lucy shook her head, pointing to him. Sira jumped, not sure what she meant.  
"W-What?" he stammered.

"You are _not _going out like that," she announced, motioning to Sira's appearance. "You need a shower,"

Sira slowly looked down at himself. When was the last time he had taken a shower? He almost forgot what the word meant.

"But-"

"No butts. Go." Lucy said sternly.

"Don't argue kid. She wont let it go." Laxus announced with a smirk. "Also, you gotta wait. Knowing Lucy she probably already used up all the hot water."

"Did not."

Sira as too dumfounded to even argue as Lucy began to dig through her bag for her shampoo and conditioner for him to use. "There is already soap in there, so you can use that." She announced, handing a few bottles towards him.

"Um-" he looked down to read the label 'strawberries' on the shampoo bottle. Strawberries were a nice smell, but he wasn't sure if that is what he wanted to smell like. He couldn't say no though. After all Lucy had done for him, it would just be rude.

So after 10 minutes of waiting, Laxus appeared from the misty bathroom, dressed in a new outfit and motioning for Sira to take his turn.

With a small sigh, Sira trudged into the bathroom to take his very needed shower.

"A change in cloths is also in order," Lucy mumbled to herself as she watched him close the door. "Laxus, can you go get him some?"

The older mage scowled at her. "Why?" he grumbled.  
"One; I need to get Sira some towels and make sure he brushes his hair. Two, there is a gift shop right down stairs that sells shirts and pants that you can easily get too. And three, because I said so."

"Really only one of those reasons explained why I should be the one to go," Laxus pointed out, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Would you just go." She sighed.

"As you command, you're _highness." _He gave her an annoyed bow before he ventured off out of the hotel room to find the gift shop.

"Don't get lost!" Lucy called to him.

"Shut up." He muttered, slamming the door behind him.

When he was gone, Lucy chuckled to herself. Remembering her job, she moved towards the closet to find Sira some extra towels.

It didn't take long before both of her companions had returned and were done. Laxus was even nice enough to hand Sira his towel and new cloths.

Which, by the way, fit Sira amazingly!

"Oh, those fit perfectly," Lucy smiled, getting a full view of Sira's new outfit. Sira pulled on the collar of his shirt nervously.

It was odd, feeling so fresh and new.

His shirt had the hotel's logo on the front and on the back held their usual weekend schedule. He wore simple dark short and tenni-shoes as well.

"Now we just need to brush your hair," Lucy held a brush out to him. He stared at it awkwardly, looking up at her confused. "…Y'know. Brush your hair." Lucy motioned to what he was supposed to do. Sira frowned, slowly shacking his head. "You've never brushed your hair before?" she gawked at him.

He blushed, avoiding her gaze, "I think I did when I was little. I just haven't… don't it in a while."

"Oh." Lucy said softly. Rubbing her chin in thought, she snapped her fingers when an idea dawned on her. "Here, I'll brush it."

Surprised, he glanced up at her. "You will?"

"Yeah." She nodded quickly. "Here, sit here." Rushing to the small table, she pulled out a chair.

Sitting Sira down, Lucy took a few clumps of hair into her hand and began to brush them gently. It was a little hard thanks to all the rats, but she made it a slow process, so that it didn't hurt Sira.

Laxus watched the two from the table in silence. He wasn't sure how to put this but the way Lucy acted towards Sira… it was almost how an adult would act to a child.

No wait, that wasn't right. It was the same sort of age difference, but the feeling behind the actions were different.

They acted how a sister would be to a brother or… how a mother would be to her child.

"We could give you a hair cut if you want too." Lucy announced, lifting Sira's chin a bit and brushing a few of his bangs to the side of his face to show off his bright baby blue eyes.

"I like my hair," the younger boy whined. "I don't want to be bald."

Lucy laughed, "We would only trim it a bit Sira. We wouldn't cut it completely off."

"Oh." He flushed at his mistake.

"And it's okay if you don't want a trim. I was just saying." Lucy brushed the other side of his head, removing ever rat that she found. His hair was surprisingly super soft.

"…A trim might be okay." He shrugged a bit, not sure how much of a 'trim' Lucy meant. Smiling at him, she pulled back when she had finished her job.

"There!" she clapped. "Have a look." Holding out a mirror, Sira was shocked at the face that looked back at him. This was him?

"Alright alright." Laxus stood up, wringing his hands. "I'm starving, lets go.' He motioned to the door, clearly annoyed at how long he had to wait.  
"Oh hush Laxus. You're as impatient as ever." Lucy scolded, moving to brush a few extra bangs out of Sira's face with her fingers. Sira looked up at her, blushing a bit at the gentle care she was giving him.

Licking her thumb a bit, Lucy pushed Sira's bangs down to stick. "There." She nodded when she felt satisfied. "Now we can go."

"Finally."

**Did you like it? **

**Who else here thinks it would be cute if Lucy became like a mom to Sira? Anybody? Anybody?**


	6. Never trust a Ginger

**Yay! New Chapter! Time for some fun, fighting, and bonding! SUPER YAY!**

"Jeez kid," Laxus muttered, watching as Sira scarfed down his foods in large intakes. "Calm down."

Lucy chuckled when Sira flushed in embarrassment.  
"S-Sorry," he stammered, putting his fork down.

"It is fine," the two assured him.

"Just don't eat so fast. You'll get a stomach ache." Lucy announced.

After entering the small restaurant next to their hotel, Lucy had told Sira to order anything he wanted. Usually Sira would stammer something about how Lucy shouldn't use her money on him, but this time was different. He actually looked excited about the offer, and took great advantage of it.

Turns out, Sira really had a big appetite and was a large fan of many different assortments of foods. Which explained how he had managed to scarf down at least six full plates of bacon and eggs.

Sira nodded meekly, placing his fork back in his mouth. After a few second and a few more spoonfulls, he glanced at Lucy. "…Thank you… for the food." He nodded gratefully.

"Anytime Sira." Lucy smiled back. Having finished her meal long ago, she was very content to just watch the young mage eat. It made her happy to see he was enjoying his meal so much. When he was done, and reaching for his milk, Lucy couldn't help but chuckle at the younger boy.

Surprised, he blinked at her. "What?' he asked slowly.

Grabbing her napkin, Lucy reached out to Sira's face, whipping away the bacon crumbs and milk mustaches that covered him. Embarrassed, the shield mage avoiding eye contact, hoping his blush didn't show to obviously.

"There." Lucy nodded when she deemed his face clean. With a soft murmur of thanks, Sira collected his seventh plate of food.

"You're like a black hole, aren't ya?" Laxus commented, leaning his head against his hand to stare at Sira. Sira didn't reply and munched on his meal with a happy grin.

"Hypocrite." Lucy scolded from the other side of Sira. Laxus frowned at her, not sure what she meant. The celestial mage sighed, looking past Laxus to his 5 empty plates stacked on top of one another. He had eaten almost as much as Sira!

"So Laxus." Laxus looked past the boy to look at Lucy. "What shall we do today?" she inquired.

He blinked, as if she had just asked the weirdest question in the world. "…Stuff." He shrugged.

"Oh, how helpful." Lucy frowned at him.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to come here, not me. You decided Ms. Airhead." Laxus held his hands up in a playful surrender. Sira peeked up at Lucy for a split second and before she could notice his look, he looked back down.

"Well I'm here for the whole festival, so I thought you might want to do something you would enjoy." Lucy explained with a huff.

"I don't really care." Laxus sighed in irritation. "Just as long as it doesn't involve more shopping."

"Why don't you like shopping?" Lucy frowned.

"Because we're usually in the same store for hours until you finally decide what you want." The lightning mage grumbled.

"I am not." Lucy argued.

"You are too." Laxus smirked at her. "Then you try to make me carry your bags."

"Well why not? It's not like you have trouble with them." Lucy shrugged.

"That doesn't mean that I-"

"He's lying. He's too much of a pansy. " A voice interrupted the two from behind.

Whirling around, the group's eyes widened at the sight of a red head standing before them.

"Laxus' chubby arms are too weak to carry the bags, but he has too much pride to admit it. How sad." Ashren shook her head.

"Ashren, you're back!" Lucy smiled over her shoulder. Pulling up a chair on the other side of Lucy, Ashren took a seat.

"Sorry for the delay. I had complications on the way," Ashren announced. (Haha, that rhymed!)

"The council catch on to your terrorist plans?" Laxus guessed, leaning his cheek against his palm.

"Laxus," Lucy scolded, "Ashren's isn't a terrorist!"

"Could have fooled me," Laxus mumbled.  
"Good thing that isn't hard to do," Ashren said blankly, lifting up her menu to her face. After a few second, she slowly lowered it, turning her gaze to Sira. Sira stared back and the two blinked at each other. "…Who is the kid?"

"Why didn't you ask that in the first place?" Laxus questioned.  
"Because you're fatness blinded me,"

"Oh would you two knock it off," Lucy sighed. "Ashren, this is Sira. Sira, this is Ashren, the friend I was telling you about."

"Oh, the Shadow Mage," Sira nodded.

"Is that the type of magic you can use?" Laxus leaned forward to look at the redhead. Lucy almost slapped her forehead for not mentioning that to Laxus sooner. How had she managed to tell Sira, and not Laxus?

"No, it's my alias for when I go gambling, of course it is my type of magic," Ashren scowled.

"You're probably just as bad as a gambler as your attitude." Laxus countered.

"Oh-ho, Mr. Fathead made a joke." Ashren cooed.

"Whoa okay, you two have really gotten off on a _great _start," Lucy whistled, pulling away from the table. "I think Sira and me should leave you two to your cat fight,"

"It won't be much of a fight," Ashren smirked.

"Is that a challenge?" Laxus asked dangerously.

"No, it's kindness. Kindness so that I save you the embarrassment of making a fool or yourself more than you already have."

"Yeah, alright, that's it." Lucy rose to her feet, placed her money on the counter and took Sira's hand. Sira stared at the older red head and blond head with wide, shocked eyes as Lucy pulled him out of his seat and towards the door.  
Neither of the two stopped from their argument even as Sira and Lucy left. Lucy began to wonder if they even noticed they were gone.

"D-Do they always fight like that?" Sira stammered out after they got at least a block away from the restaurant.

"Sadly, yes." Lucy sighed. "It just seems to get worst the more they are around each other."

Sira looked down in shock, mouthing the word, 'Wow'. "And I thought Laxus and you fought a lot."

She laughed at that. "Yeah. Strange, isn't it?" the two shared a laugh before turning their attention back to the streets. "So Sira, how long have you lived here?"

"All my life." Sira answered quietly, looking back and forth on the street. "I remember when I was little… I lived here with my dad. He worked as a store keeper." Sira trailed off, as if caught in a memory. "He um… he passed away a few years ago, and I was left on my own. There really isn't an orphanage here, and the city doesn't real care much for the homeless, so…"

"You were left to fend for yourself? That is awful!" Lucy gasped.

Sira shrugged. "It's how this place works."

Shocked at his calm attitude to the subject, Lucy tightened her grip on his hand. She wanted to ask more, but she didn't want to bring up any painful memories. Moving onto another subject, she titled her head. "So, since you've lived here you're hole life, you probably know the best tourist sights, right?"

Sira smiled a bit, nodding. "Well, everyone loves the DQ Gardens."

"DQ? What do the initials stand for?"

"It doesn't really stand for anything. It is just the DQ Gardens." (_Author's note: This is a joke XD it is called the Dairy Queen Gardens because my friend and me went to Dairy Queen at the point we were writing this chapter and we kept making this joke as to what if Lucy went to Dairy Queen. And of course we need a name for the Garden and this kept coming up. _)

"It sounds so romantic, I'd love to go!" Lucy cheered, feeling her author's instincts get the best of her. This would be a great opportunity to get inspiration for her stories!

-000-

"Oh my gosh! It's beautiful!" Lucy squealed with delight, rushing forward towards the rows and rows of flowerbeds.

"This is the most beautiful spot in all of town." Sira explained, smiling at the flowers. "These flowers go on for almost two whole miles."

"That's amazing." Lucy smiled.  
"Yeah, the City… they spend a lot of their resources and making things look pretty." Sira chuckled dryly.

His words made Lucy feel uneasy, as if there was something else behind them.

"That's really… all they care about. How things look. You wouldn't think, seeing how pretty this city is, that there wasn't anything wrong with it." He looked towards his feet, shuffling them a bit.

"…Is there something wrong with this city?" Lucy asked softly.

Turning away from her, she could see him shrug. "…Guess not." With those words he walked forward, moving within the flowers. Quick to follow, Lucy hesitated.  
"…What is your favorite flower Sira."

"Lilies." He answered instantly. "Their my favorite."

"Why is that?" she moved to walk beside him, smiling.

"Lily, it was my mom's name.' Sira smiled a bit back at her. "I never got to meet her, but my dad always said Lilies were her favorite flower too. Sometimes I'd like to think, that if I'm by the Lilies, I'm sort of by her too. You know what I mean?" he sounded nervous with the subject.

Lucy smiled, understanding. "My mother passed away when I was young. I don't remember much of her." She admitted. Sira glanced at her. "But you know Sira, you don't have to be by Lilies to know she is there." Lucy took Sira's hand, surprising him. "You're mother is always with you, right here." She placed a hand on Sira's heart. Surprised, the younger mage placed a hand on his own heart, listening to his steady heartbeat.

With a gentle smile, Sira looked up at her. "Thank you Lucy."

They shared a grin before turning back to the flowers. For the next 20 minutes they talked and walked, saying anything that came to mind.

Lucy had learned many things about Sira. What his favorites food, color, number, and activity was.

He was a huge fan of music. He adored it!

When Lucy asked if he could paly anything, there was a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"Yeah."

"Really? What do you play?" Lucy beamed at him.

"Well, I've always had a lot of free time on my hands, so I learned a couple instruments. It just always came easy to me." He chuckled nervously. "I can play the guitar, Piano, violin, and a bit of the trumpet."

"Sira, that is amazing!" the older celestial mage gawked at him. "I can't even play the maracas without messing up." The two shared a laugh.

"Well, can you sing Lucy?" Sira inquired.

"Oh, well, I wouldn't say I'm good. But I like to. What about you, can you sing?"

Sira suddenly blushed, and shrugged a bit. "Some people have said I am good, but… I-I don't really think so."

Lucy stopped at this, giving him a little look. He froze, not sure what that look was suppose to mean.

"…Can you sing for me?" she smirked.

"W-What? No!" he stammered, stepping back, his face still red from before.

"Aww, come on Sira. I'm sure you're great." Lucy didn't even realize they had begun to walk back towards the streets and into the middle of town.

"I couldn't." Sira insisted. "Not in front of all these people."

"Well how about you sing for me back at the hotel?" she grinned.

Pouting at her, Sira looked at his feet. "I'm not good."

"I'm sure that isn't true. Come on Sira, just one song? Please?"

At her begging face, Sira slowly felt himself give in. "…Fine."

"Promise?" she extended out her pinky. Wrapping his own pinky around hers, the two shook.

"Promise."

"Great! So it is a deal. I'm sure Ashren would love to hear you sing too!" Lucy skipped forward.

"I-I don't think she needs to know about this." Sira called desperately. It was embarrassing enough to sing in front of one person, two people were too much.

Sira rushed forward, but slowed his pace when he saw Lucy come to a complete halt. Stepping next to her, he tilted his head up at her confused. "Lucy?"

"Oh no." Lucy sighed as she stared ahead, her attention caught on a small fight that had broken out in the streets. A small fight between a blond lightning mage and a redheaded shadow mage.

"Say that again, carrot top!" Laxus seethed.

"I called you a 'Oinker', you fat lob!" Ashren jabbed a finger at him, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Lucy… what should we do?' Sira asked nervously, staring back and forth between the two.

"I…I don't know." Lucy answered honestly.

"You're calling me fat?" Laxus demanded. "Try taking a look in the mirror, thunder thighs."

"What did you just say?" Ashren screeched, reaching up to punch Laxus straight in the jaw. Furious, Laxus hit bat by kneeing the smaller mage in the gut.  
"Oh! Oh! Laxus! Don't hit a girl!" Lucy called in frustration as the two began to physically fight one another.

Ashren leapt forward, wrapping her arms around Laxus' neck in a tight headlock. Practically standing on his back to complete her headlock, Laxus growled when Ashren wrapped her legs around his arms, preventing him from reaching up and grabbing her.

Roaring in anger, he began to toss and turn wildly, smashing into objects in attempts to ride himself of the red headed menace.

Lucy sighed, shacking her head as a group began to form around the two chanting, 'fight, fight fight!"

"You're going to have to try harder than that you big behemoth!" Ashren cackled into Laxus' ear.

And that's when Magic came into play.

"You don't even know, Baboon butt." Laxus' fingers began to spark with electricity.

Smirking at the sudden game change, the surrounding area seemed to get a little darker, as if the shadows around them were beginning to shift. "The same goes for you, thou weedy common-kissing bum-bailey." Ashren began to quote Shakespeare. In a quick set of motions Laxus pushed upward, firing a small spark of lightning towards Ashren. Moving her elbow a bit, a sudden shadow emerged, blocking the lightning from hitting her face.

"This… This isn't going to end well." Lucy sighed.

"It looks like a cow farted on your face!"

"You look like the cow that farted!" Ashren countered

"Oh my gosh." Lucy covered her face with her hands. To think, they were both _her companions. _She would never live this embarrassment down. These two were worst then Natsu and Gray- No! No Lucy, don't think about them. Especially… especially Natsu. Don't think about him. She had to stop thinking about them. She _had _to distract herself.

"Laxus!" she screamed. The two paused, looking to Lucy in surprise. Rushing forward, she jumped up to smack Laxus across the head. "First off, you _never _insult a girls weight! You idiot! Second-" Whirling around, she smacked Ashren across the head as well.

"Gah!" they both winced, stumbling back to hold their heads.

"What was that for?!" Ashren demanded.

"For being just as big as an idiot as Laxus." She lifted her hand to smack them both on top of the head again. With small grunt, they glared at her.

She met their glare back with her own, and they took a small step back. Behind Lucy, Sira blinked wildly, nervous at Lucy's angry demeanor. The two older mages grew silent, staring at Lucy with un-readable expressions. Narrowing her eyes, as if challenging them to go against her, the two stepped back.

"…We'll behave." They said after a few seconds of hesitation. They may not have liked each other, but they could deal with each other long enough to avoid the rage of Lucy. That was something no one wanted to deal with.

"Good." Lucy folded her arms. Running forward, Sira stood next to Lucy and stared at her, clearly impressed. He never would have guessed that she was able to calm those two. It was amazing.

"Now, what in the world got into you two?" Lucy demanded.

"Laxus said I had thunder thighs." Ashren grumbled, sending him a quick glare.  
"She kept calling me fat." Laxus glared back.

Listening to them tattle back and forth on each other, Lucy held up her hand to stop them. "Alright, never mind. I don't want to know." They nodded in approval.

"What about you two? Where did you run off too?" Ashren inquired.

"DQ Gardens." Sira and Lucy answered together with joyful smiles.

Laxus and Ashren both frowned at the odd name that sounded familiar to them somehow.  
"Oh Ashren I have to take you there sometime. It is beautiful." Lucy mused. "And Sira was the greatest Tour guide you could have."

Blushing a bit, Sira rubbed the back of his head. "Not… really." He shrugged sheepishly.

"At least you kept an eye on the air head." Laxus smirked, giving Sira a pat on the back. Not expecting how much force Laxus had unknowingly put into the pat, Sira stumbled forward.

The four fell into silence as the round object feel from Sira's pocket, hitting the floor with a soft thump.

Sira paled, his eyes widening in horror.

"…Sira… what the hell is that?" Laxus slowly pointed to the small sphere with an odd smiley face drawn on it.

Diving down to cover it, Sira began to stammer nervously, "T-This is nothing! Nothing! I-it is just m-my… uh… my friend's! Yeah! My friend's!"

The two older blondes exchanged glances with the red head next to them. All three of them began to smirk.

"Is that a stuffed animal?" They cooed.  
"N-No! Those are for babies," Sira turned away to hide the small circular stuffed frog back into his pocket.

"Oh okay. So then does your little _friend_ there have a name?" Lucy smiled.

Sira paused to pout at Lucy over his shoulder. After a few seconds he blushed and looked away, "...Dillion,"

"Dillion the Frog," Ashren repeated.

"Well Dillion looks so cute." Lucy smiled. "How long have you had him?"

"Yeah, how long?" Laxus was trying is best not to snicker.

"...I got him when I was 3." He admitted after a few seconds of hesitation.

"Ten years, that is a long time." Ashren smirked.

"…Yeah, s-so what? It's not like I can't go anywhere without him or something." Sira's blush had made it all the way down to his throat by the time he had finished speaking.  
"We didn't say that you did." Lucy grinned, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We were just wondering how old Dillion was."

"Well he's 10, now you know." Sira turned away with a pout, storming down the street in attempt to escape the embarrassment.

The three smirked wickedly at each other before they rushed after the younger mage.

It was so cute that Sira still had a stuffed animal he carried around with him! Lucy could vaguely recall having her own little toy when she was little. Wait… or was it a doll? A girl doll she had named… what had she named that doll again? Now that she thought about it, after her mother passed, she had stopped playing with the doll and left it in the doll.

It hurt too much to look at it, and when she had finally been able to move on from her mother's passing, she had forgotten about it completely.

She felt bad for how she had just left her there, even if she was only just a doll. Maybe her father still had the doll with him? Or maybe it was in storage or somewhere still within the garden.

She would have to go back to her old home one-day and find out.

"Oy, Lucy, where are we going?" Laxus scowled, grabbing her arm to catch her attention.

"Where ever you want." Lucy answered. Laxus' frowned deepened as he stared at her.

"There is no where I want to go." He answered simply.

"Well aren't you dull." Ashren cooed innocently.

"I will punch you." Laxus threatened.

"And I will hit both of you again." Lucy hissed, looking towards the crowds. The two went silent, walking so that Lucy and Sira were squished between them.

Turning a few corners, Lucy was surprised to see just how many people had instrument on this street. It was a complete musical street filled with performers playing all different shapes and sizes.

From within the crowd, music could be heard. As soon as the notes reached the citizen's ears, they grabbed a partner and began to dance.

"Dancing?" Lucy smiled.

"They have different activities like this every year." Sira explained with a small smile.  
Eyes sparkling, Lucy reached out and grabbed Ashren's hand before the red head could stop her. Snapping her eyes to her childhood friend, Ashren blinked.  
"What?"

"Lets dance."

Ashren's eyes widened at Lucy's suggestion. "Uh… no." she said bluntly.  
"Aww, come on. It will be fun, just like when we were kids." Lucy tugged a bit on her sleeve.

"Definitely no." Ashren tried to tug her arm away but Lucy pulled back insistently.

"Come on Ashren, I'll buy you dinner." Suddenly much more interested, Ashren turned her head back.

"A full course meal that I don't have to pay for with my own money?" she inquired sinisterly.

"Yes." Lucy sighed, shacking her head.

"Then lets go!" Ashren yanked Lucy forward into the crowd. "Come on Laxus, it'll be _fun."_

The older Lightning mage glared at the red head suspiciously, who looked back at him with an innocent smile.

"Remember my words carefully Sira." Laxus said, his voice serious as he clamped a hand down on Sira's shoulder. Looking up at the older mage, Sira titled his head.  
"Never trust a Ginger.." With those inspiring words, Laxus was pulled into the dancing crowds.

"Uh…. Okay." Sira called softly, not sure what to make of that.

**Haha, I love Laxus X) **

**Anyone else feel like there is some secret problem with the city? Anybody? Any guesses either? I would love to hear what you have to think! Please review or message me! :D**

**Hey everyone! SO Sira is going to be doing a little singing in the next chapter. I'm not sure what song he should sing though. Anyone have any suggestions? **


	7. A dance into one's tears

**Hey everyone! So, quick note, I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL! I also Do not own the song "Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars. :3 **

**I only own the character Sira :D**

"Sira! Why didn't you tell me you're such a good dancer!?" Lucy demanded as Sira and her danced within the crowds.

"Y-You never asked." He stammered back.

"Well I should have! Where did you learn to dance like this?" Ducking down a bit so he could twirl her, the younger boy smiled nervously.

"My dad."

"Well he must have been a divine dancer."

With a small laugh, Sira nodded in agreement.

"Ashren!" Lucy called to her redheaded friend who was swaying back and forth. "That isn't dancing!"

"Yes it is, so shut up." Ashren scowled.

"No it isn't. Here, dance with Sira. He'll show you how it is done." Turning Sira around, she shoved him forward so that he landed in Ashren's arms. "Plus, you two can get to know each other."

Ashren and Sira blinked at each other.

"Sup peasant kid." Ashren nodded.  
"Uh… hi?"

Lucy chuckled at the two, hoping they could get along. Or at least, hoping Ashren wouldn't scare the poor boy off. That wouldn't exactly help in trying to show Sira that he could trust them. Moving with in the crowds, Lucy frowned when she couldn't see Laxus.

Oh great.

Laxus, alone? That never ended well.

Twirling once, Lucy's squeaked when she tripped forward. Stumbling a few steps she fell into someone's arms. Opening her eyes, she was met with piercing gray eyes.

"Klutz." Laxus stated lifting her up, keeping a tight grip on her shoulders. Staring up at him, she smiled meekly.

"Uh… thanks for the catch. I was actually just look for you."

He smirked. "You were looking for me?"

Regretting her words, she stammered, "W-Well yeah. I don't want you getting lost again."

He frowned. "I wouldn't get lost."

"That is what you said last time." Lucy pointed out, poking his chest. The older mage scowled, prepared to twirl Lucy away when the crowds suddenly got closer, pushing them against one another.

Lucy squeaked when someone suddenly elbowed her from behind, crashing into Laxus' chest.

"Hey!" Laxus snapped at the man, wrapping one arm around Lucy's shoulder's to shove the man back. "Watch it."

"Hey you watch-" the man whirled around to shove Laxus back, but withdrew at the sight of Laxus' piercing glare. "S-Sorry man." He ducked his head in apology, quick to flee.

"Moron." Laxus scoffed.

Lucy didn't truly even care that the man had elbowed her. She didn't care that she was squished in the crowds like a sardine. What she did care about was just how close she was to Laxus. His arm was still wrapped around her shoulders, unconsciously holding her close, her head resting against his muscular chest.

Lucy may have made constant jokes or insulted Laxus for being 'fat' but she knew Laxus was far from it. He was raw muscle from head to toe. From where her hand rested against his upper arm, she could feel the muscles flexing as he moved.

Flushing nervously, she didn't dare look up at Laxus. Hopefully he would realize the position they were in and would pull away? Or maybe he was waiting for her to pull away?

What was she suppose to do in a situation like this? She could call him a pervert and scream. Ashren would probably come running.

She really didn't want those two fighting again.

_Da-dum._

Wait, what was that? She listened closely to the sound that rang against her ear.

_Da-dum._

It was a soft and steady beat. Almost like…

_Da-dum._

Was this... Laxus' heart? She had her ear pressed against his chest, so it must have been. The steady beat of it was almost soothing and Lucy thought for a few seconds, '_It wouldn't be too bad if she stayed like this for a while'._

The thought made her blush and she decided to end it there. Pulling away from Laxus, he looked down confused, as if he himself had just realized how close they were.

"Oh uh…. My bad." He mumbled slowly, his expression un-readable.

"It's fine," Lucy looked towards her feet, hoping her embarrassment didn't show through. When she was ready, she slowly looked back up at him. "Would you… care to dance?"

"Dance." Laxus repeated, thinking it over.

"Can you not dance?"

"Did I say I couldn't dance?" he scowled, stepping forward and taking her hands. Pulling her close, she squeaked.  
"I-I take that as a 'No' then." She mumbled nervously, peeking up at him. Smirking, he took a step forward, leading her.

Lucy had to admit… Laxus could dance. It was something she really didn't expect from him, but he could dance! For as big as a guy as he was, he was very swift on his feet. The two of them moved threw the crowds with ease.

It had been a while since she had danced with a partner before, so she hoped she wasn't stepping on his feet or anything. Well, that was the least of her worries.

Her main concern right at the moment was how he was staring down at her. His eyes were dark with emotion that Lucy couldn't bring herself to look at. She looked everywhere but his eyes.

"What? Nervous?" Lucy could tell he was smirking even if she was currently staring at his shoes.

"No."

"Then what's up?"

"Nothing I'm just… I'm thinking." Lucy made up a quick excuse. It wasn't like it was a lie.

"Right." He didn't sound convinced.

Frowning, she peeked up at him. He was smirking playfully, his face only inches from her own.

She wanted to look away as quickly as possible but was caught in Laxus' gaze when an unknown emotion flashed in those dark gray orbs.

"…What?" he mumbled as she stared at him.

"…Nothing." She said breathlessly.

Brown locked with gray, the two danced for a few more minutes till the songs began to die down and the crowds began to dispatch. Slowly glancing to her left to see Ashren and Sira heading their way, the celestial mage sighed.

"We should probably uh… head back to the hotel soon." Lucy said softly, stepping away.

"…Yeah." Laxus nodded in agreement. Slowly he released Lucy's hands. She couldn't help but notice that he hesitated in letting go, but it must have been her imagination.

"Oy, peasants." Ashren snapped frowning suspiciously at the two. "Where have you two been?"

Lucy trailed off nervously. "Oh um…"

"None of your business carrot top." Laxus growled.

Turning to him, Ashren's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do you want to continue what we started earlier?" she threatened.

"Would be my pleasure." He popped his knuckles.

"Knock it off!" Lucy stepped between the two. "Honestly, you two are acting like children." She scolded.

The two paused, glaring at each other before they stepped away.

"Tch." Laxus turned his head with a huff. "Whatever."

Shacking her head Lucy sighed. "Let's head back."

-000-

When the four companions returned to the room, Lucy had offered for Ashren to share a bed with her since it was a rather large mattress. Ashren agreed, cackling evilly that she wouldn't have to pay for her own room.

Much to Laxus' distaste, he allowed Ashren to shower first, threatening to end her life if she used up all the hot water.

Lucy wasn't even sure if one person could use up all the hot water in a hotel. Then again though, this was Ashren we were talking about, so it might be possible.

That aside, Lucy grinned wildly, looking towards Sira, who was beginning to crawl into bed.

"Sira!" Lucy jumped on the bed, making him jump. Sitting down, she hugged her knees close to smile at him. "You promised." She cooed.

Flinching at the promise he made to her earlier that day, he nodded. "Well um… what do you want to hear?"

Lucy leaned back a bit, rubbing her chin. "Hey Ashren, what is your favorite song?" Lucy asked over her shoulder.

Peeking her head out of the bathroom, dressed in her black pajamas with a towel covering her wet head, Ashren frowned. "Why do you want to know?"

"Do I need a reason to want to know something?" Lucy frowned back.  
"Usually, yes."

With a small huff, Lucy rolled her eyes. "Sira is going to sing us a song."

"The kid can sing?' Laxus asked dully, sitting up from the couch.

"I can't really-"

"He can!" Lucy interrupted him, placing a hand over him mouth to silence him. "Now pick a song for him to sing." She grinned.

With a huff, Ashren paced a bit, thinking the question over. "…Well… I don't really have a favorite. So just sing something you know Sira. Like um… you know the 'Lazy Song'?"

Sira nodded meekly. "Y-Yeah, I know that song."  
"Well perfect, sing that one peasant." Ashren motioned for him to continue.  
"Ashren." Lucy scolded.

Sira smiled a bit, looking down at his hands. Clearing his throat, he gulped. "Okay um…" Pausing to recall the lyrics, the young mage blushed when all the eyes in the room fell on him. "T-Today I don't feel like doing anything. I just want to lay in my bed."

Lucy eyes widened as Sira's voice echoed in the room.

"Don't feel like pickin' up my phone, so leave a message at the tone. Cause today I swear I'm not doin' anything."

Smiling back at Ashren, who smirked, Lucy listened intently to Sira's song. She was surprised how Sira's voice seemed to get a little louder, as if his confidence was growing the more he sang. Laxus on the other hand must have thought the lyrics were hilarious because he snickered from his spot on the couch.

"I'm gonna kick my feet up and stare at the fan, turn the TV on throw my hand in my pants."

Lucy was completely surprised that Sira didn't blush or stop singing with those lyrics.

"Nobody's gonna tell me I can't. I'll be lounging on my couch just chillin' in my snuggie. Click to MTV so they can teach me how to dougie. 'Cause in my castle I'm the freakin' man." Sira grinned, jumping to his feet and standing on top of the bed. "Oh yes I said it, I said it. I said it 'cause I can."

Tilting her head back and forth to the lyrics, Lucy snapped her fingers to the beat. Behind her Ashren whistled as Sira began to dance a bit to the song.

"Today I don't feel like doing anything. I just wanna lay in my bed. Don't feel like picking up my phone. So leave a message at the tone. 'Cause today I swear I'm not doing anything" Sira skipped to the last verse of the long for time and suddenly… smirked? He smirked? Where did this Sira come from!?

"No, I ain't gonna come my hair, 'cause I ain't goin' anywhere. No, no, no. no, no, no-no, no." he swayed his hips back and forth getting a 'whoop, whoop' from Ashren. "I'll just strut in my birthday suit, and let everythin' hang loose. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."

Laxus was cackling from the couch, clapping a few times for Sira.

Ooh. Today I don't feel like doing anything. I just wanna lay in my bed. Don't feel like picking up my phone. So leave a message at the tone. 'Cause today I swear I'm not doing anything" Sira slowly bent back down to his knees, smiling at his feet. "Nothing at all. Ooh, hoo, ooh, hoo, ooh, ooh-ooh. Nothing at all. Ooh, hoo, ooh, hoo, ooh, ooh-ooh. Nothing at all." At the end of his song the girls in the room began to cheer, clipping wildly for the young shield mage.

Jumping a bit in surprise, Sira's face turned bright red.

"That was amazing Sira! You're voice is so good!" Lucy ruffled his hair.

"Yeah you little liar." Ashren stepped forward. "You said you weren't that good of a singer."

"I-I'm not really."  
"That's a bunch of crap!" Laxus pointed to him. "Kid, you got some pipes."

With wide eyes, Sira blinked a few time, slowly looking at his knees, smiling brightly.

"But Sira-" At Ashren's voice, the boy looked to her. "What the hell was with that sudden courage boost?"

"…Courage boost?" Sira frowned.  
"Yeah. You suddenly got all 'I'm a super singer and danger' mode." Laxus explained, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

Rubbing his chin, Sira frowned in contemplation. "I… Oh! Oh um-" he flushed red. "When I sing I sort of, lose myself in the song. I don't even realize myself what I do, I just… do it."

"Either way… this is perfect." Ashren turned to the window, wringing her hands together in an, 'I have an evil plan' way. Scowling over her shoulder, Lucy frowned.  
"What's perfect?" she questioned.

"I can use this!" Ashren announced, whirling around to jab her finger in Sira's direction. "Kid, you're my new key!"

"K-Key?"

"Yes! I'm going to make you popular. And with your popularity, comes more money! Bwahaha!" the stingy redhead cackled up to the ceiling. In the middle of her evil laughter a pillow smacked her in the face.  
"Shut up and go to bed." Laxus commanded.

-0000-

An hour later, the lights within the hotel room had been turned off, covering the room in Darkness. All the companions but one were already in their beds, deep into their dreams.

The only one still awake was a blond celestial mage, who couldn't seem to be able to fall asleep.

Leaning against the windowsill, Lucy tilted her head to the sky. The luminous sky above her twinkled in a calming way, as if telling her that from now one, everything was going to be okay.

That everything was right with the world now. From behind her, her two male companions snored softly almost in perfect unison. Lucy couldn't help but smile and chuckle to herself as she turned to look at them.

Sira had plopped himself on the second bed in the room while Laxus had taken the couch. Both were turned over on their sides, and snoring from the exhaustion of the day.

She hadn't known either of them long, yet staring at them now, she felt so safe. As if she had known these two her whole lives, even if there were many things she still didn't know about these two.

Sira shifted in his sleep, subconsciously kicking his sheets down to cover his only his ankles. Slowly, with more stealth then she thought she possessed, Lucy made her way over to Sira's bed. From there, she carefully lifted his covers up to cover the boy.

"Now now Sira, you don't want to catch a cold," she whispered softly, a smile pulling at her lips.

The younger boy mumbled something in his sleep, cuddling closer to his stuffed frog named Dillion.

With a warm smile, she moved back to the windowsill, carefully unlocking it to open it up and let in the cool night air. Grabbing a blanket to take with her, Lucy crawled out to the roof. She had often done this at her old home and star gazed long into the night.

She only stargazed though when she had amnesia.

Lucy didn't like amnesia. She preferred having a good nights sleep, not only because if she didn't she had large bags under her eyes, but because she couldn't do anything else but think during those long nights.

Before, when she was still in… Fairy Tail, she didn't mind spending long hours into the night thinking. She would think of past events or new ideas for her stories.

However now… all she could think about was what happened back in Fairy Tail.

With a shiver, she huddled closer to the blanket she had with her.

"Lucy?" She jumped at the sound of a soft voice calling to her from the window. Looking down, she smiled to see Sira sticking his head out to look at her.  
"Hey Sira, up here." She called. Stepping onto the ledge, Sira reached out for Lucy's hand, who gladly helped him up to the roof.

"What are you doing up here?' Sira asked.

"Thinking."

"About what?"

With a small sigh, she shrugged. "I couldn't sleep and thought I would come up here. After a while I started thinking about… everything." She smiled sheepishly. "About a few months ago, Ashren, my parents, Laxus, you."

Sira nodded, moving to sit next to the older celestial mage.

"And what about you? What are you doing up?" Lucy titled her head at him.

"Can't sleep."

"Heh, you and me both." With a small pause, she motioned for him to come closer. "C'mere."

Scooting closer, Sira let Lucy move her blanket so that she could wrap it around his shoulders. Pressing his shoulder to her, the two huddle together for warmth against the cold night air.

"Do you like to watch the stars?" Sira asked shyly.

"I do." Lucy sighed contently, looking up at the sky. "They are very peaceful."

The younger boy nodded in agreement. Deciding to go back to the subject before he asked, "You said you came up here to think. What else were you thinking about?'

"Well, I was thinking about today. The dancing, you're singing, all that. You're an amazing singer by the way." She grinned when he blushed. "Then I started thinking about this town. It's really beautiful, and I've always wanted to come here but…" she trailed off. They were left into a silence for a while, both not sure what to say.

"I don't really… like this town." Sira admitted.

"Eh?" Lucy blinked.

"I've never liked this town," Sira continued. "There are so many bad people in here."

"You mean… those guys who tried to beat you up?' Lucy inquired.  
"No, not just them. Everyone." Sira frowned a bit. "Everyone here is so busy they don't even realize just how bad this town is. How much some of the people suffer here."

"I… I didn't realize."

"No one does. This town looks so perfect, how could something possibly be wrong? Hah, what a joke." The young boys voice, which was usually so soft and caring grew cold. "I hate it here! No one… cares at all! They don't care what happens to anyone and are so enveloped in their own lives they don't see how messed up this place is sometimes."

"Sira." Lucy said softly.

"I was eight when my dad died. Eight! But- But this city, they didn't have anywhere to put me. So they gave me 10 dollars and told me to manage so that they could get back to their lives and not have to worry about a little brat like me."

Lucy covered her mouth in shock as Sira began to rant.

"I was forced to live on the street. I've had to steal for years just so I would die of starvation! I can't even… I don't even know how to read! I keep walking through these streets trying to read the signs they put up but I can't!"

"Sira-"

"I hate it! I hate every single person in this town! I hate this world for letting something like this happen!" his voice grew and grew, until suddenly it cracked. "I-I… I hate it. I-It was so hard." A small, strangled sob erupted from his throat. Covering his face with his sleeve, he looked away, his eyes red.

_Sira._

Wanting to reach out, Lucy held herself back, letting Sira get his burden off his chest.

The young boy's shoulder began to shack as his hide his face into his sleeve. "I wish… I had been given a better life," he sobbed into his sleeve. "…Or maybe, not even that! Maybe just, a second chance. A chance at a life with love and friends. Not this… this terrible place." The small boy shook violently, "If I was given a second chance then… I wouldn't steal anymore. Not for all the gold in the world would I steal again…. I'll never be given that chance though, huh? In this world, even those who h-have completely changed from their evil ways, are never given a second chance."

Lucy couldn't take it anymore; she brought her arms out and pulled Sira into a tight embrace. Shifting his head from his sleeve to her shoulder, her held onto her tightly, as if he would fall if he loosened his grip even slightly.

Lucy had no right to tell Sira things would get better, for she had never gone through the pain he had been through. So she did the best as she could and caressed his head gently, letting him cry out all his feelings.

"I-I've tried s-so hard." He bawled, his voice muffled.  
"I know Sira. I know." She said soothingly. Running her hands through his hair soothingly Lucy held the weeping boy close.

"Shhh. It's okay. It's okay. I'm here Sira."

She could feel his grip tighten around her sleeves. After a few minutes the sobs began to die down, leaving them in silence.

She patted his back a few times, rubbing small circles on his shirt. When he slowly pulled away, Lucy tilted her head a bit to see his face.

His cheeks were red, his eyes puffy. Hiccupping a bit, he rubbed his eyes to rub away the final tears.

"Sorry for getting your shirt wet." Sira sniffed.

Smiling warmly she reached out to brush a lingering tear on his face. "It's okay. Are you feeling better?"  
He nodded meekly. "Yes. Thank you Lucy."

Grinning, she patted his head. "It's getting late, why don't you head off to bed."

Feeling his exhaustion hit him, the younger mage nodded. "Alright." Getting to his feet he slowly began to move towards the window. "Hey Lucy." Looking over his shoulder, he smiled, "There is one good part of this town though."

"…Really?"

Sira nodded, shielding his face by looking back towards the window. "A lot of good and fun people come to visit this place a lot. Like Ashren, Laxus and you."

**Sira! I love you! You are so cute! I swear Lucy has got to adopt you soon or I'm going to die! Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter! :D We're getting to the main plot of this story soon! The main plot involves 'second chances' XD**


	8. I have a frog like idea!

**And here we are, the main plot of the story shall be revealed within this chapter! Lets see if you all can see what it is!**

**Also, BlueMoonMillennium, said that she wanted to see some LaLu action by chapter 8, so I added some Lalu scenes in this chapter!**

**Hope this chapter doesn't seem rushed! **

"And that Sira, is why you never call a women fat." Ashren said simply, standing triumphantly on Laxus' back, who was laying flat on the ground.

Sira nodded slowly, dumbfounded. He wasn't sure what just happened, all he knows is that one second Ashren and Laxus were arguing about where to go eat lunch, and the next, some shadow had swallowed Laxus whole.

After a few seconds he re-appeared with his wrists and ankles bound, and landed flat on his back, Ashren cackling evilly.

"Ashren." Lucy sighed.

Glancing at her child hood friend, Ashren scowled. "Fine." Stepping off, she allowed Laxus to roll onto his back, snapping the ropes around his wrists with a quick flex of his muscles.

"Oh, impressive." Ashren cooed sarcastically.  
"I will kill you." Laxus growled back.

"Would you two stop." Lucy sighed at the two. "You're just embarrassing yourselves."

"And scaring the public." Sira mumbled softly under his breath, staring at his feet. Lucy looked to him in surprise that he spoke up. Seeing her look, he jumped, realizing he had been heard. Blushing furiously, as if worried she might be mad at him, she shocked him by smiling.

"Very true." She chuckled, taking his hand and pulling him forward.

Slowly smiling, Sira laughed as well.  
"Huh?" Ashren blinked, staring at them confused. "What? What is very true?"

"Nothing." Lucy waved her off.

The red head frowned. "No seriously, what did the kid say? Did he call Laxus fat? If so, well done kid!" she patted his back.

Laxus replied by bringing his fist down on the top of Ashren's head, making her growl in anger.

Pushing through the crowds, the four companions paused from time to time to play some of the festival game stands they had set out.

One they stopped at was a guessing game. The worker would bring you forward; ask you a few questions, then try to guess your age.

"You should try this Laxus." Ashren snickered.

He growled, but stepped forward anyway.

"Ah, hello sir, come closer." The women smiled, motioning him forward. Stepping forward for all to see, Laxus stared at the women with a blank face.  
"What is your name sir?"

"Laxus."

"Alright Laxus, can I ask you a few questions?"

He shrugged, not really caring.

"Alright, please guess a number between 1 and 10." The women smiled.

"…3." Laxus sighed, really not wanting to be here. Lucy nudged him a bit, making him scowl.

"Multiply it by 2."

"6."

"Add 5."

"11."

"Multiply it by 50."

"550."

"Have you already had your birthday this year sir?" The women inquired.  
"Yes."

"Then please add 1763 to your answer." She smiled.

"2,313." Laxus shrugged.

"What year were you born in?"

Laxus answered the question with a bored voice. (I would answer normally, but Fairy Tail they are in 777, which wouldn't work for this. Sorry people. I would try this out normally though, see if you get your age XD)

"Alright, I'll subtract that from your answer. You're first number will be the one you started with, 4, and the next two will be your age, 23."

Behind him Sira and Lucy's eyes widened. "She's right!" they gasped.

Laxus nodded. "Yeah, I'm 23."

The crowd began to clap in astonishment. The women smiled happily.

"Thank you for participating sir."  
"Whatever." He shrugged, moving back into the crowd.  
"Well that was a waste of time." Ashren mumbled as they moved away from the crowd.  
"It was not." Lucy argued.

"Yeah it was, anyone could guess someone's age with that trick."

"I bet you couldn't." Lucy dared.  
"Don't even go there Lucy." Ashren warned, holding up a finger.

Lucy pouted, her eyes trailing towards the bag Ashren was holding. "What is the bag for?"

"Oh." As if realizing herself she still had it, she lifted it up. "Here,"

Sira's eyes widened when Ashren suddenly held a bag out to him. Taking it slowly, he looked up at her confused.

"What's this?"  
"A bag." Laxus answered bluntly.

"No duh Sherlock." Ashren sent him a glare. "Just open it kid."

Hesitant, Sira slowly opened the bag, peeking inside. Reaching in, he pulled out a brown jacket his size. "…This is…?"  
"Well, I heard you slept out on the streets sometimes. It gets cold at night." Ashren shrugged casually.

Running his fingers over the soft fabric, Sira looked up at Ashren with wide eyes. "You got this for me?"

"No, I got it for Lucy, of course I got it for you." Ashren scoffed.

Lucy peeked over Sira's shoulder, looking almost horrified. "You… bought Sira a jacket?"

"Yeah."

"…You bought it?"

"Yeah." Ashren frowned.

"…With… with your own money?"

The red head grimaced. "Yes." She seethed.

Lucy took a step back, looking Ashren up and down. "…Who are you and what have you done with the cheapskate Ashren that I know?"

"Come off it Lucy." Ashren growled.

Holding her hands up in defeat, the celestial mage grinned. "Sorry, I just… that is really nice Ashren, and you bought it with your own money."

"…I know." Ashren slouched a bit, looking at her feet sadly. "My beautiful money." She sniffled.

"Ashren I… I don't know what to say." Sira stammered. "Thank you so much, but… why? You didn't have to spend your money on me."

Ashren shrugged. "It is fine. Think of it as an early good bye gift."

Startled, Sira's eyes widened.  
"The festival ends tomorrow." Ashren looked towards the crowds. "We'll be leaving after that."

The group fell silent. Lucy had forgotten that they had decided to leave at the end of the festival to continue their travels.

Nervously looking towards Sira, she was surprised to find him slowly smiling.

"I see. Well, thank you so much for the gift Ashren. I'll treasure it."

Ashren stared at him blankly. "…That's good."

Quick to put it one, Sira looked down on himself. Buttoning it up, he walked in a small circle to show it off. "How does it look?"  
"Fits you perfectly." Lucy smiled.

"Weird how you know his jacket size." Laxus muttered.

"And you can't, what an idiot." Ashren smirked.  
"Or you are just a creeper and terrorist." Laxus countered.

"It doesn't take a creeper to see how you probably wear an extra extra extra large, fatso."

"Really? You two are going to start this up again?" the celestial mage sighed.  
"He/She started it." The growled.

"How about you two got get some ice cream?" Lucy suggested. "Maybe it will help cool you off."

The two paused to look at her before glaring back at one another. They both opened their mouths to speak but Lucy beat them to it.  
"I'll give you money." She held up a few jewels.

"Money!" Ashren squealed in delight. Laxus flinched as she rushed forward, snatching it from Lucy's hand to rub it against her face lovingly. "How I adore you!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Now shoo." She motioned for them to leave. Ashren didn't complain and practically skipped down the street, Laxus trudging behind her unwillingly.

"Does she always act that way around money?" Sira blinked.  
"Usually." Lucy chuckled. Grinning at the younger mage, Lucy pulled Sira towards a few festival game stands.

"Alright, now that Laxus and Ashren are gone, I can finally play this game!" Lucy cheered, moving to the game where you had to shot down a few cans to win.

"Why did you have to wait for Ashren and Laxus to leave?" Laxus questioned.

"Because Laxus would have mocked me if I missed and Ashren would have made me try to miss." Lucy answered with a sigh, placing a few jewels on the table for the guy behind the table to start the game.  
"You have three shots." The man announced, handing her a dart gun.

Nodding, Lucy took her aim.

Sira watched from her left, blinking.

When the first shot fired, Lucy cheered when the can fell over. "Alright!"  
"You can get any of the smaller prizes," the guy announced. "Get two more shots and you win the big prizes up above."

Lucy nodded. "Sira, is there anything you have your eyes on?" Lucy inquired.

Nervous, he stared at the prizes. "The uh… the frog?" he pointed to the frog with a bow on it with a nervous grin.

"Does it remind you of Dillion?" Lucy smirked.

Blushing furiously, he looked away. "N-No."

Laughing, the older mage took her aim again. "That frog shall be ours." She announced, taking the shot. The can tipped over with a satisfying click. "Yes!" Lucy cheered.

Sira grinned.

"One more shot." The man chuckled.

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "What will you name the frog Sira?" she asked, aiming again.  
"Eh?' he blinked. "I uh… I dunno I…" he fumbled for an answers. "…Lily?"

Lucy fired. Time seemed to freeze as the dart shot forward, hitting the can at a weird angle. She held her breath when it tilted slightly, but fell right back flat, standing up straight.

"NO!" she wailed in defeat, falling to her knees. "How could I have missed?!"

Sira jumped, reaching out hesitantly. "Uh… it is okay." He chuckled nervously.

"Not it isn't." Lucy sobbed. "I wanted to win that frog for you."

Blushing a bit, Sira scratched the back of his head. "…It is the thought that counts."

In front of them the man cleared his throat. "Well how about it, there isn't anyone waiting behind you, so I'll give you a free shot?"

Lucy instantly jumped to her feet, her eyes sparkling. "Really?"

He nodded, handing the dart gun back to her. "Knock yourself out hun."

She cheered, moving into a perfect firing position, aiming. "You're mine frog!" she declared, firing. The can blew off the cabinet, falling to the ground.

Cheering, Lucy threw the gun into the air, wrapping her arms around Sira and spinning him around. The two laughed as they spun, pausing their victory only for a few moments to take the frog the man held out to them.

With a laugh, the man whistled to catch their attention. "Hey, how about I give you a second frog free?" he asked, holding up a slightly bigger frog then the one Lucy had. "I only have one left and it takes weeks for the frogs to go. So how about it."

"You're the most amazing festival man ever!" Lucy appeared in front of the frog, snatching it into her arms within seconds.

The man winked. "Happy to help ma'am."

Grinning, Lucy held the two frogs out to Sira, who stared at them with wide eyes. "I…Thank you." He took them into his arms, staring at them. Since one had a bow, he assumed that frog was a girl and the other was a boy with the gruff expression it had.

Smiling, he turned away to hide his happy grin. Running forward, Lucy didn't even have time to squeak for him to wait up before she was running after them.

Sira ran straight to the park, sliding onto one of the park benched. Sliding after him, she pouted.

"Don't run off like that."

"Sorry… I got excited." He blushed, holding the frogs close. "No one besides my dad… has ever given me a present before. And now I have three." He looked at the frogs and his jacket. "I'm really happy."

Smiling at him, Lucy nodded. "I see."

Nodding, Sira held the frogs close, slowly frowning.

"Lucy," Sira kicked his legs a bit, "W-Why did you come here?"

"To see the festival," she answered immediately. The boy next to her nodded.

"What will you do… when it is over?" his voice was soft, almost a whisper. She looked down at Sira, who looked troubled, uncertain and afraid. What it was that made him so, she wasn't sure.

With a small hum, the older Stellar Mage tilted her head back a bit. "I don't know," she admitted. "Perhaps travel the country with Ashren and Laxus?" it was more of a question then an answer.

The younger mage nodded, looking back down at his knees.

"Why do you ask Sira?"

He shrugged, which seemed to be a habit of his when he didn't want to answer, or simply didn't have an answer to give.

Shacking her head at him, she decided to continue the conversation down another path, "What about you Sira? Will you always stay here, in Heaven's Grove?"

A little startled, he looked at her, "W-Why do you want to know that?"

She smiled at how nervous and shy he could be at times, "I'm worried," she said softly.

"…Worried?" he titled his head, not sure what she meant.  
"About you Sira," the boy blushed a bit at this, "You are here in this town, all by yourself. With no one to watch over or care for you. Some people here have even tried to hurt you," she reached out, gently touching the side of his face, where a dark purple bruise still remained.

A few days ago, Sira would have flinched and reeled back at any type of contact. Yet now, having gotten to know Lucy just a bit more, he felt relaxed. A little more accepting to the affection she gave.

The gentle care and warm smiles Lucy gave him. It made him wonder if this is what a… mother would do for her child.

"It's… okay. I've survived this long." He said softly. Looking towards the crowds, he smiled. "I was actually thinking, that if I ever did leave Heaven's Grove… I would join a guild."

"A guild?" Lucy's eyes widened in surprise. "Why a guild?"  
He shrugged. "I don't' know. I thought it might be fun. I would be able to earn money with requests, and I might be able to… make some friends."

Nodding, Lucy titled her head. "Which guild were you thinking of joining?"

Frowning in contemplation, the shield mage grinned sheepishly. "I don't really know many and none of the ones I do know have caught my attention." He admitted.

Lucy laughed. "Well, there are plenty out there, so I'm sure you will find one you like."

"I hope so. One time, I had a dream I was part of a guild." Sira's eyes suddenly sparkled.

"Really? What happened?" Lucy smiled.

"Well, I guess the guild was new. In my dream I guess I had enough money to make one."  
"You were the guild master?"  
"Sort of. I bought the guild, but someone else was the guild master since my magic… I-It isn't very strong."

"I disagree." Lucy huffed, "It is very strong."

Bushing a bit, Sira grinned. "Thanks."  
"No problem, but hey, the idea of making your own guild sounds super cool." She grinned.

Nodding, Sira looked towards the clouds above. "I don't think I could ever make a guild alone though. But it would be amazing if I could actually do it." He said dreamily.

Following his gaze, Lucy frowned a bit. She peeked at him, seeing his content smile as he stared at the sky.

_Making your own guild? _

_-000-_

_"_Who the hell gets pistachio ice cream?" Ashren scowled at the older lightning mage as they made their way back to Lucy.

"Those who are right in the head. Unlike you, who gets…" he stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Cashews."

"Don't you diss the Cashews." Ashren narrowed her eyes dangerously. "I will kill you."

"You can try."

"I will succeed."

Pausing to take another bite of their ice cream, the two slowly made their way back to the park where they had left Lucy and Sira.

Ashren glanced up at Laxus, frowning. "What will you do?" she asked

Not looking at her, he took another bite. "What will I do for what?" he grumbled.  
"The boy." Ashren answered.

"What about him?"  
"We both know that Lucy has grown rather attached to him." Ashren pointed out, staring down at her ice cream blankly. "When tomorrow roles around and the festival ends… what will you two do?"  
"Why ask this now?" Laxus sighed.

Ashren kicked her foot to the right, taking out Laxus' knee, making him stumble and almost drop his ice cream. Catching himself, he glared at the red head.

"Don't be a smart ass." She growled dangerously. "I'm being serious."

Scoffing, Laxus turned his head. "…I don't know." He admitted through gritted teeth. "I would be lying if I said I don't care what happens to the kid, but it is his life, so he can do what he wishes."

"So you will just leave him here?"

"If that is what he wants."

Ashren nodded. "…Your ice cream is melting."

Laxus reeled back when he felt melted ice cream run down his hand. Cursing, he extended his hand out so it wouldn't get on his jacket.

Ashren cackled at the sight, sticking her tongue out at him when he glared at her.

Grabbing a few napkins to clean up the mess, the two loathing companions moved back to the park, looking around for their two friends.

Moving closer to the middle of the park, they looked towards the benches.

Ashren and Laxus stopped mid step, their eyes widening at the sight before them. Sitting on the bench in front of them, Sira and Lucy were sitting. Sira was leaning his head against Lucy's upper arm, fast asleep as Lucy stared at him with a soft smile.

There was a deep and newfound love that sparkled in her eyes as she stared at the young mage.

"…Are you sure about just leaving him here?" Ashren asked softly.

His jaw set, Laxus narrowed his eyes, unable to come up with an answer.

_-000-_

"It is disturbing how light this kid is." Laxus announced as he stepped into the hotel room, carrying a sleeping Sira on his back.

"With how scrawny he is, I'm not surprised." Ashren snorted, throwing her bag against the chair.  
"Both of you shh." Lucy commanded, motioning for Laxus to place Sira on the bed. Moving across the room, Laxus slowly lowered himself to place Sira gently on the mattress. Reaching down, Laxus began to remove Sira's shoes, placing them on the ground beside the bedpost.

On the other side of the bed Lucy leaned forward a bit to remove Sira's jacket and folded it up neatly.

"Kid snores just as loud as you." Laxus snickered quietly.  
"Me? I think you are referring to yourself." Lucy smirked playfully at him as they both lifted up the blankets to cover Sira's small form.

Mumbling something in his sleep, Sira rolled onto his side, curling up against the blankets.

The two blond mages smiled down at the young boy warmly.

Ashren watched the little moment in silence. She had already begun to notice it from day two of being here. The moment she saw Lucy whipping away bacon crumbs off that boy's mouth she knew; they both cared deeply for the little squirt.

The same goes for the kid.

Speaking of the kid, Ashren almost laughed at the two stuffed frogs Lucy had won for him. Since Sira was asleep, Lucy had placed the two large frogs near Sira's Frog Dillion. Since the two new frogs were so much bigger then Dillion, it almost looked like they were Dillion's parents, and the three were on big family.

"Alright you weirdoes, stop staring at him." Ashren whispered across the room. The two blondes glared at her, not amused.

However, the red head was right, and they had to get ready for bed. So with a few quick showers and a little before bed snack, the companions returned to their beds.

All except one celestial mage, who sat at the table, staring at a blank piece of paper.

It had been a while since she had last tried to write any part of her stories. However no matter how hard she tried, she could not seem to bring the words to her head.

Why was that? Why could she find no inspiration for her writing anymore?

With a groan, she pressed her hands to her temples, rubbing them insistently. _Work brain! _

Smooching her cheeks, she looked towards Sira's bed. The young boy was curled towards one corner of the bed, snoring slightly.

_Make your own guild._

That thought shot through her mind again, making Lucy frown. Stretching her arms up, Lucy moved her head in a few circles to get it to pop. When it did, she sighed.

What was she thinking?

Making your own guild? Thinking about it, it sounded almost impossible. You would probably need a lot of money, the okay of the council, and who knows what else.

Yet the thought wouldn't leave her mind. Shacking her head, Lucy moved to the window. Opening it up, she lifted herself onto the roof.

Stargazing would help her think, just as it always did.

_Stars._

Whenever she looked up at them she would think of her celestial spirits. How were they doing? It had been a while since she summoned them.

She hoped they weren't mad at her, but knowing Aquarius, she probably already was.

Sighing, Lucy reached into her pocket to pull out her pouch, which held her golden and silver keys. Staring at them, she jingled them a bit, listening quietly to the sound of them clicking together.

She didn't want to admit it but… she was afraid to bring them out. She didn't even understand why she couldn't herself. Perhaps every time she had brought them out before, it was as a member of… of Fairy Tail.

It would be sad to bring them out now when she was no longer a member.

_"_Ah!" she sighed in exasperation, falling back against the roof. She was thinking about Fairy Tail again.

_Stop it, stop it now Lucy. Stop thinking about them! The already stopped thinking about you. _

"Oy, what are you doing up there?" Lucy's eyes widened when Laxus stuck his head out from the window.  
"…Stargazing." She called softly.

Rolling his eyes, as if she had said something stupid, Laxus flipped himself up to the room, trudging to sit next to her. "You do this a lot?"  
"Only when I can't sleep." Lucy chuckled.

"How often is that?" At the serious tone in the older mage's voice, Lucy looked away.

"…Not often." She shrugged. "I star gazed with Sira a bit last night. We talked a little about everything that has happened lately."

Laxus grunted in response, leaning back to get comfortable. Seeing that he was lying down against the roof Lucy followed his decent and laid on her back. "Do you like to stargaze?"  
"Yeah."

"Do you know all the constellations?" Lucy turned her head to smile at him.

He scowled. "I just look at stars, I don't bother making shapes out of them."

"That's not fun."  
"Says you."

The celestial mage chuckled. "Not what I mean Laxus. It's fine to just look at the stars, but it is also fun if you make shapes out of them."

He glanced at her, eyes narrowed in confusion.

Grinning, she lifted her hand to point at the sky. He followed her finger, which was pointing at a small star right above their heads.

"If you go to the right of that star, make a sort of circle, then cut straight across, it looks like a monkey."

The older mage frowned in disbelief, following the path she spoke of. After a few seconds, he blinked. "…Monkey." He muttered.

"Told you." Lucy smirked at him.

"Shut up airhead." Laxus commanded, sitting up so he wouldn't have to look at her. Laughing, she sat up as well.

The two shared a comfortable silence as they stared out into the city.

After a few minutes, Laxus looked at her. "…How are you doin'?" he asked.

Taken aback at his sudden concern, she shrugged. "Uh… good."

"…You sure?" Laxus frowned suspiciously.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She frowned back.

With a huff, he looked ahead. "I hear you mumble to yourself in your sleep. You mumble about Fairy Tail." He announced.

She flinched. Of course she mumbled in her sleep. "You- I'm fine." She insisted.  
"Hey, I'm not saying you aren't." he held his hand up in defeat. "Just curious."

"And why is that?" she titled her head.

Disregarding the subject quickly, Laxus asked, "What did the kid and you talk about while the carrot top and me were gone?"

Pouting slightly that he avoided the question Lucy explained, "He asked what we would be doing after we left town. He also said what he might do in the future."

"What's that?"  
"Join a guild."

"Heh, which one?" Laxus snickered, for some reason finding Sira's goal amusing.

"He doesn't know."

"He probably doesn't know the difference between a light and dark guild." The lightning mage announced.  
"I'm sure he does."  
"What if he doesn't? He'll join a dark guild without even realizing it."

Lucy opened her mouth to argue, but her eyes widened in horror. "Oh gosh, do you really think that might happen."

"It could."

"Oh my gosh!" she gasped. "We have to make sure to tell him which guilds are dark guilds and which aren't! They would crush him! Oh Sira~!" Lucy cried out in despair, the image of poor Sira being beaten up overwhelming her.

"Oy Air head, calm down. I was just kidding." Laxus said quickly. "He probably knows the difference." She didn't look convinced. "If it makes you feel better we can tell him the differences tomorrow."

Smiling in satisfaction, she nodded.

The two fell into another silence.

What was with these constant silences between them? It was as if they suddenly lost everything to talk about for a few seconds before they could talk again.

_It would be easier if they could just keep talking with out any silences. What would they talk about though? _

Lucy could always tell him about what Sira said before. She couldn't get the guild idea out of her mind anyway.

Leaning her head against his shoulder, she stared up the sky in wonder. It almost made the lightning mage jump at the sudden gesture.

"Hey Laxus." Lucy spoke before he could question what she was doing  
"…Yeah?" he glanced down at her, blinking.

As if caught in a daze, she blinked. "Let's make our own guild."

Taken aback, Laxus gave her an incredulous look, "What?"

Lucy smiled at him. "Lets start our own guild!"

Raising an eyebrow at her, he frowned. "Why would you want to do that?" he questioned. Granted, he wasn't completely against starting his own guild, but he never expected Lucy to want to. She loved Fairy Tail with all her heart, even after what they did. Granted, he didn't know every detail of what happened, but from what she said, it was pretty bad.

Fairy Tail had completely betrayed her; similar to how he had betrayed them.

Hell though, even he would be hesitant on joining a new guild.

Since Laxus was a boy he had always been curious in what it would be like to start his own guild. As the years went by though and his personality began to change, the idea didn't come into his mind as much. Making one… that didn't sound too bad to him though, especially if Lucy was by his side.

…He did not just say that, shut up.

However it wouldn't be easy. And was it something that she truly wanted?

Lucy shrugged. "I was thinking, about what Sira said." She confessed. "He said he wished he had been given a second chance. That people change, but are never given that chance to prove it." She took his hand into her's, examining it.

Staring at her, he tilted his head a tad, trying to look her in the eye. What was with her today? She had never been this calm around him, or this bold.

Something must have happened.

"I want to make a place… that gives people that second chance." She said softly.

Laxus had a feeling that Lucy wasn't just talking about Sira when she said this. He felt that she was also talking about him, and in a way, herself.

"Cause there are so many people in this world who wish they had a second chance." She looked up at him smiling.

His eyes softened as he looked at Lucy's smiling face. Her heart was too big for her own good. Lifting his other hand, he hesitantly brought it to cup her cheek.

"Is that what you really want?" he had to make sure.

Felling herself blush and leaning into the touch, she nodded. She knew she could never return to Fairy Tail, but she didn't want to let that hold her back. She wanted to walk forward, together with Laxus Ashren and Sira, and help as many people as she could.

She wanted to give Sira and Laxus that second chance they deserved.

"…Sure."

"Eh?" Lucy pulled back from Laxus' touch in surprise. "What did you just say?"  
"Sure."

Lucy couldn't believe her ears. "…One more time?"  
Laxus sighed. "I said 'Sure' you air head." He scowled, folding his arms. "How many more times do I have to say it before it gets through that thick skull of yours." He reached out, poking her forehead.

She pouted slightly. "Excuse me for being shocked. I just… wasn't expecting you to agree."

"You're the one who brought it up." He reminded her.

"I-I know that but… are you sure you want to?" she smiled slightly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Really?! Oh Laxus!" she leapt forward, hugging him around the neck. "Thank you so much!"

Blinking, he slowly reached up to pat her back. "…No problem, Lucy."

Pulling away, she smiled brightly at him. "Maybe we can ask Ashren to join?"

_Well, there goes that mood. _Laxus fell on his back and groaned in protest. _Not carrot top~!_

"What?" Lucy frowned in confusion.

**First of, sorry if this chapter seemed rushed or something. I didn't feel like it was, but who knows. Also, thank you so much for all the support and I am sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes there might be! **


End file.
